James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have raised the issue of isolation in rural and urban settings which is closely linked with loneliness. Since I became my party's spokesperson on mental health and engaged on various issues, there has been one issue that has consistently exacerbated any mental health issue and that is loneliness which results largely from isolation and affects both physical and mental health. Whether in the urban centres of Gorey, Wexford, Enniscorthy and New Ross and the surrounding rural areas or Dublin city or Cork where I meet various groups, isolation is consistently raised as an issue when discussing loneliness and its effect on mental health. There is much we could do. Many of the traditional structures that helped to prevent isolation and loneliness are no more. The State could do a lot to develop new structures where people could meet, interact and engage to combat this epidemic.

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