Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to respond today on the very serious issue of clusters of suicides among young women in Ballyfermot, Clondalkin and Tallaght last year. The fact that the HSE investigation has linked these deaths to the housing crisis, domestic violence, poverty and recreational drug use is a clear message that the Government must act. Parts of Ballyfermot, Clondalkin and Tallaght are traditionally disadvantaged areas with high levels of poverty. Poverty underpins all the issues I just raised. As somebody who talks each day to people affected by the housing crisis, I am not surprised to see that this is one of the leading issues in the tragic deaths of these young women.

Government policies over the years have had detrimental impacts on people's well-being. Having a safe and secure place to call home is one of the basic needs of human beings. The HSE produced the report, Rapid Assessment and Community Response to suicide and suspected suicide in Dublin South. Since 2015, the female suicide rate in these areas is three times the national average, but it took the deaths of eight young women in their 20s and early 30s in a ten-week period to prompt this report. The Government must have a proactive response to the report and put in place supports, services and policies that will stop clusters of suicides occurring.

My constituency of Dublin Mid-West has experienced spates of suicides over the years. In fact, as I mentioned on previous occasions, it was the first area to have a Pieta House and it is the area where Jigsaw started. That was directly to meet the demand in the area. However, the Minister of State should be mindful that while both organisations provide very good services, they have gone from being community services to being national services. They are not the same services that the people went out onto the streets to demand. The Minister of State should bear that in mind. As Deputy Ó Snodaigh said, the report contains a number of recommendations. How and when will they be implemented?

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