Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I welcome today’s debate on men’s health. Ireland was the first country in the world to adopt a national men’s health policy in 2009 and we have followed through with action plans in 2017 and again in 2024. We have seen progress, with the number of premature deaths down, stronger partnerships across voluntary, academic and health sectors and a far better evidence base to guide what works for men.

However, there is more to do because men in Ireland still die younger than women. The life expectancy for men is 80.5 versus 84.1 for women and 40% of male deaths are still premature. That is the challenge facing us. The agenda is clear. Men carry higher risks in key areas: cancer now accounts for 30.8% of male deaths; 63% of men are overweight or obese; 37% report binge drinking; and men made up 78% of road fatalities in 2023.

We also know men's mental health needs are real and under-treated. Some 16.7% of men aged 40 to 44 report mental health difficulties. Yet men are less likely to seek help early. Our job is to lower the threshold to care and meet men where they are. That is why I particularly welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler’s targeted investment this year of €2 million to deliver over 15,000 free counselling sessions for men, with simple referral routes via GPs, yourmentalhealth.ie and trusted partners like Connect Counselling and MyMind. It is practical, stigma-busting and fast to access, exactly the kind of intervention that turns help seeking from a good idea into an easy step.

Policy is also delivering locally . It was great to join the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, at Mount Carmel last week for the official opening of Riverside House Community Eating Disorder Services. It is a state-of-the-art hub for specialist community mental health services for people with eating disorders across south Dublin and Wicklow. In my constituency, men’s sheds in Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock and Loughlinstown are doing quiet, life-saving work, building friendships and developing life skills. There is a project on a bench, and the conversation that follows. You do not have to call it therapy for it to be therapeutic.

Government backing through the Irish Men’s Sheds Association, the Sheds for Life programme and Healthy Ireland funding is money well spent, because connection is often the first and most important intervention. Sometimes the best early intervention tool is the cup of tea someone else makes for you.

We are also targeting high-risk settings, including the Construction Alliance to Reduce Suicide, CAIRDE, project in construction, On Feirm Ground for farmers and the national engage training programme, to name but a few. We can add to that the men’s health action plan 2024-2028 now being implemented by the HSE, a newly appointed national lead for men’s health, and a dedicated combined budget of €1.3 million across Healthy Ireland and the HSE to keep momentum.

I want to commend the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on her efforts. I know she is committed to keep funding services locally, with counselling and talk therapies for men, supporting groups like men’s sheds and, of course, supporting specialist services so men can get the help and support they need when they need it.

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