Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this very serious issue. I want to read a statement from Olwen Rowe from Wexford, the sister of Kenneth Rowe, who took his own life. Kenneth was a good friend to two of my sons. The statement reads:

Families and friends live many nightmares when a loved one dies by suicide. When there is no warning, the shock and the pain are immense, beyond words.

But sometimes, there are warning signs and there's the unthinkable nightmare of seeing your loved one decline, seeing their distress, and repeatedly trying to access professional support for them, but hitting wall after wall. You watch your loved one fighting for their life without the professional help they desperately need. You try to believe the experts [who] say that you are over-reacting but you are terrified you’ll get the call, or the Gardaí will come to your door, and then that day comes, and your world falls apart.

Kenneth was 32. He was independent, private and self-reliant but when he hit a crisis, he knew he needed help. With the support of Kenneth’s GP and others, Kenneth tried to get help. My parents spent countless days and nights sitting with Kenneth as he battled his anguish, wrapping him in the light of their love. They worked tirelessly to get him the care he needed.

It was like watching a train hurtle towards an abyss and begging for help from the experts only to be told we were exaggerating, we were overprotective, he’d be fine, it was Christmas and there were no appointments, he should get back to work, work stress was normal, he should drink less coffee and get more exercise, he should take the increasing number, and doses of medication he was being prescribed, all without any ongoing support.

Kenneth was failed by both public and private mental health services in this country. It is difficult now to meaningfully engage with those who were asked to provide care for Kenneth, to see why these health systems failed him: whether it was individual failure, shortage in resources, lack of expertise, lack of compassion, lack of understanding.

We heard University Hospital Waterford was under pressure for beds, that patients were being admitted and kept in chairs. Can you imagine how awful it is, hoping a family member would be admitted for psychiatric care and being terrified of whether or not that service would be fit for purpose? Whether the hell that he was living through, as he tried to get on with his daily life was better than the hell of being admitted to an overstretched mental health facility?

Kenneth was sent home from Waterford Hospital 3 times in 5 days. Imagine our despair that in spite of an urgent referral from Waterford to Summerhill Community Mental Health Services, Kenneth’s appointment was for six weeks later. The wait was impossible. We were told Kenneth couldn’t access mental health services in another public hospital. As Kenneth’s crisis deepened we attempted to access private mental health services at St. Patrick’s in Dublin. This was another disaster, another failure. There was nowhere else to turn.

Kenneth fought so hard to stay alive for everyone and everything he loved. But he didn’t make it. He ended his life 19 days before his appointment at Summerhill.

The Taoiseach gave the opening speech at the Pieta House “Darkness Into Light” event. Yet his government has failed to give adequate funding to mental health services. Suicide rates in Wexford are a lot higher than the national average; yet no emergency mental health services exist in Wexford. Charities like Pieta House and the Samaritans do good work; but their supports cannot replace the complex psychological and psychiatric care that should be provided by HSE mental health services.

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