Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. A line from a song associated with a television programme in the 1970s stated suicide was painless. It is not. The pain a suicide victim goes through beforehand can only be imagined and the pain and distress suffered by those left behind are probably one of the worst forms of bereavement there is. I raised this issue on the Order of Business last week as a direct result of the recent OECD survey which placed Ireland second out of 32 countries in a league table detailing the number of those under 25 years of age who had taken their own lives. To give an idea of the differences, the suicide rate in Ireland is 10.3 per 100,000, while in the United Kingdom it is 3.3.

The number of youth suicides has dramatically increased, a development which is very marked when compared to the averages across OECD countries. The statistics quoted already bear close scrutiny. The national suicide review group has been mentioned. It has stated 301 males and 54 females between the ages of 20 and 24 years committed suicide between 1997 and 2001. In addition, in 2001 there were 53 suicides in Dublin city, 40 males and 13 females. Of those, 24 were aged between 15 and 34 years. In Cork there were 72 suicides, 57 males and 15 females. However, probably the starkest figures have recently been released by the Central Statistics Office for 2002. In the first quarter of that year there were 67 suicides, 53 males and 14 females, with 13 aged between 15 and 24 years. In the second quarter there were 132 suicides, 110 males and 22 females. In the third quarter there were 114 suicides, 90 males and 24 females. Of those, 55 were aged between 15 and 34 years.

I have also come across an excellent report by AWARE entitled, Suicide in Ireland: A Global Perspective and a National Strategy; some of its conclusions are very interesting. Suicide is the most common form of death among our young people, far exceeding car deaths and cancer. Reducing the suicide rate cannot be achieved without a change in attitude and awareness with a commitment to care for those with depression. I welcome the Minister of State's comments as they clearly lay out the steps being taken.