Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for my late arrival. I wish to raise the issue that was highlighted in media reports this morning regarding a practice that in America is called the fainting game or sometimes the choking game and which has been around for some time. Its origins go back to the 1980s, when it swept through America for a period before going into decline. However, more than 80 deaths in America have been attributed to this phenomenon. While it principally is confined to teenagers, some of those who have died from it were somewhat older. Nevertheless, it is a highly disturbing phenomenon and I mention it because, unfortunately, a teenager is seriously ill in hospital in our own jurisdiction at present, having fallen victim to this dangerous practice. It has been described among young people as being some type of a high, to use that awful word, but of course it can prove fatal to those for whom it goes wrong. Like all Members, I hope the teenager in question will recover in full. It is a difficult time for him and for his family and, obviously, Members wish him the best.

However, I wish to make a connection with many things that are going on in the society in which we live, which I prefer to describe as the post-Celtic tiger fall-out syndromes. In the case of young people, most of this centres on the incidence of suicide, as well as excessive use of alcohol and other drugs in the society. Moreover, the report produced by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland that was launched yesterday by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, is one of these alarming reports that tells us something about ourselves and forces us to look in the mirror about what this post-Celtic tiger period has meant. As legislators or adults, one might talk about the difficulties for unemployed people or those with difficult mortgages and so on. However, sweeping throughout this country is the connection between the case to which I have just referred regarding the young person in hospital and the issue of suicide, on top of which is the report that came out yesterday. I will cite just one figure from the aforementioned sexual violence report, which is that 35% of perpetrators of sexual abuse against child survivors were themselves under 18 years of age. I daresay this would have been unheard of 20 or 30 years ago. While launching the report yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, put it very well by stating: "While we have been horrified over historic abuse, this report forces recognition of current abuse and highlights yet again that the horror of abuse remains part of the tragic experience of too many Irish children." Consequently, when talking about rape or suicide, we no longer are talking about adults, as historically we have done.

See this speech in context