Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)

On behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, who regrets not being able to be in the Chamber this evening, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I will pass on his comments to the Minister of State. I fully accept that he comes from a place of care. That is very clear from what he said, especially when he powerfully articulated the specific issues relating to men who take their own lives.

Each death by suicide is a profound tragedy that has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. It represents the heartbreaking loss of a life but also the loss of that person’s unique potential, dreams and what their life could have been. The ripple effects are deeply felt by families, friends and entire communities, leaving lasting pain and grief. One death by suicide is one too many and, as the Deputy said, it is a reminder of the urgent need for compassion, connection and support.

This is why suicide and self-harm reduction are a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and the Government as a whole. The Minister of State recently brought a memo to the Cabinet to update the Government on our work to improve suicide prevention in Ireland in terms of access to services but also work on our new suicide reduction policy. She updated Government colleagues on the fact that suicide rates are declining in Ireland and that between 2000 and 2021, the last year for which we have official figures, the rate declined by over 25%. Preliminary figures record 302 deaths by suicide in 2023, the lowest preliminary figure in over 20 years, but, as the Deputy said, one death by suicide is one too many. We also need to be aware that there is sometimes a significant time lag in reporting on deaths by suicide. Numbers can be revised upwards, so I would not like to give a false impression of what the numbers are.

There is progress, but the Government and the Minister of State recognise we have so much more to do. Work to enhance services nationwide has taken place through Connecting for Life, our national suicide reduction strategy, and there have been sustained increases in investments in services. The Minister of State funds the National Office for Suicide Prevention, the budget of which has tripled from €5 million in 2012 to almost €15 million in 2025.

Across Ireland, a wide range of HSE-funded organisations are working to support people to overcome suicidal crises. The Minister of State recently increased funding for suicide crisis counselling through Pieta House to the national suicide bereavement liaison service, to the "text about it" service, which acts as a safety net for young people, and to the national Traveller counselling service.

There are dedicated resource officers for suicide prevention in each of the health regions promoting and co-ordinating suicide prevention initiatives in their local areas. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is working with the Department of Health and the HSE to expand alternative care pathways and therapeutic environments for people presenting to emergency departments in mental health crisis because she believes emergency departments are not an appropriate environment for people in a mental health crisis. She is working to prioritise securing additional funding to continue their expansion.

These alternatives are helping to shift supports for those in crisis into their communities. This is primarily through the roll out of a network of crisis resolution teams. I will expand on that in a moment.

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