Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)

There are a couple things that are really stark in the Movember report. One is that 46% of men from deprived or disadvantaged areas are more likely to die prematurely compared to women living in the same communities. I know the report is 15 years old but, most shockingly, it shows that a lot of work needs to be done. Among male members of the Traveller community, there is a life expectancy of 61.7 years. That is 15 years lower than the life expectancy among member of the general male population. It is stark for such a small community to have such a level of life expectancy, and a lot of suicide.

The rate of suicide among members of the Traveller community is seven times that of the general population. It is important to highlight that fact.

Our mental health services are operating on a shoestring. I want to give a shout out to a couple of people. I refer to Gerry Murray and Gerry Kavanagh who opened a wellness cafe in St. Brigid's hall in Blanchardstown. We were there recently. Those involved with the cafe do incredible work for absolutely free. They get no money other than a little from the HSE. They pay for a lot of what is done out of their own pockets. They do incredible work.

I have raised Genesis mental health services, a counselling service, in the House on many occasions. With just a relatively small amount of funding, Genesis could double the number of people it sees for counselling. It has had to close its waiting list because things are so bad, which shows the level of need that is out there.

I also want to mention the likes of Foróige, Jigsaw Youth Mental Health, Dublin 15 Community Drug Team, Tolka River Project and the Recovery Café. There are so many people out there who are doing incredible work and who are all looking for extra funding. I also want to give a shout out to all the GAA coaches, soccer coaches, teachers, cricket coaches and all of those who are helping and who, in many cases, do so on a voluntary basis. They do just incredible work helping and supporting young men in particular. We have to be so conscious that when we are talking about funding, we mean adequate funding. Otherwise, people are going to die.

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