Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, and his officials to the House.

The life of a politician involves attending many funerals. There is nothing worse than attending a funeral of a person who has committed suicide. Unfortunately, we have had our fair share of these in Carlow recently, not only of young men but of young women. I attended a funeral recently of a man in his sixties, the father of ten children, who took his own life. There is a horrible sense of helplessness when going up to sympathise with the family at the funeral because one does not know what one can say.

It is different if one is attending the funeral of an elderly person who has lived a long and healthy life. That can be a joyous occasion from the point of view of acknowledging the major contribution the person made in life. When a person's life is cut short by his or her own hand it is tragic, and everybody experiences a sense of helplessness.

It is ironic that at the funerals of those who commit suicide invariably the church is overflowing with people. I often think it is a pity the person who had committed suicide had not realised how many people could have helped him or her. It is certainly a tragedy, particularly for the family. I do not know if the family ever gets over it. I know many families in Carlow who suffered suicide bereavement and I can safely say they have never got over it and never will.

The Minister of State pointed out that Ireland ranks 17th out of 25 EU member states in terms of the overall suicide rate. That may well be the case. Almost the same number of people commit suicide in Ireland as are killed in car crashes. There is a difference in emphasis compared with the campaigns run by the National Safety Council and the role of the Garda in that respect. The amount of resources provided by the Government for the prevention of suicide is in sharp contrast with that provided to the National Safety Council.

I compliment a former Member of this House, Deputy Neville, who has played a significant role in this area and is president of the Irish Suicidology Association. He has raised this issue at every opportunity in his role as a parliamentarian.

Before becoming spokesman on health and children I was spokesman on transport. A study published in Canada indicated there was a suspicion that suicide was involved in many single-vehicle crashes. I am not sure how that was proved. I raised this issue previously at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and perhaps the Department would look at it while liaising with the National Roads Authority. Unfortunately, we wake up every morning to news of single-vehicle crashes. In some cases there is no excuse for them as they may have occurred on a good stretch of road. There is a possibility that some may involve suicide which would add to the overall figure for the incidence of suicide.

I compliment Young Fine Gael on its initiative in launching its recent document on suicide. The document contains some disturbing facts, some of which I will put on the record. In 2003, 444 people died by suicide in Ireland. That figure may be higher as some deaths which involved suicide may not have been identified as such. In 2003, 213 people under the age of 35 died by suicide. Suicide is the greatest killer among the 15 to 34 age group, accounting for one quarter of all deaths.

A quarter of all people who died as a result of suicide had a history of self-harm and for the five-year period 1999-2003, 1,012 young people under the age of 35 died by suicide in the Republic. More than two thirds of people who died by suicide tell someone of their intention in the last week of their lives. In a recent case in Carlow, a young lady who committed suicide bought a rope and was seen with it by her friends. Unfortunately, none of them asked her what she was doing with it. It was something on which everyone commented later. This was a terrible tragedy. She had been outgoing and happy and everybody assumed she wanted the rope for a different reason. Unfortunately, she used it to commit suicide.

Almost one in three people who died by suicide in 2003 were treated as inpatients in psychiatric care units in the three months before they took their own lives. The majority were classed as low to medium risk upon discharge. I do not envy the task of psychiatric nurses when assessing patients. It must be upsetting for them to hear of the death of a former patient who may have appeared to be on the road to recovery but, unfortunately, slipped through the net.

In 2003, 11,204 cases of parasuicide were reported involving 8,800 individuals. Of these, 42.6% involved men and 57.6% involved women, and 46.9% involved people under 30 years of age. In 2003, the incidence of deliberate self-harm by women in the 15 to 19 year old age group increased by 5% on the previous year. The highest rate for men was among the 20 to 24 year old age group which was up 8% on 2002.

Relationship problems were the precipitating factor in 26% of all suicides, with financial difficulties being present in 17%. The most startling statistic from the Young Fine Gael report was that every 45 minutes at least one person attempts suicide. These are just the known cases. Many reasons lie behind attempted suicide, including relationship difficulties, mental illness, depression, family relations, financial difficulties, bullying, isolation or loneliness, alcohol or drug abuse, homelessness, copycat suicide — which is a serious problem — and sexual orientation.

Young Fine Gael acknowledges the important contribution made by voluntary groups which should be complimented today. However, these groups must be given every assistance and I hope the Government will honour its commitment in that regard. The Government reckons this issue needs to be scrutinised because since 1997 the mental health budget has been reduced from 11% of the overall health budget to 6.9% in the current year. The figure in the United Kingdom is 13%. In 1960, 20% of the health budget was spent on mental health.

The national task force on suicide made 86 recommendations on suicide prevention in 1998 which have largely been ignored. On 12 April 2005, the Minister of State informed the Dáil, "Work is well under way on the preparation of a national strategy for action on suicide prevention which will be published later this year." At best, all we will get is another report but we need action. There is "reportitis" at this stage in the Department of Health and Children.

Young Fine Gael makes the point that no State helpline is in operation to assist those feeling depressed or suicidal. I read a recent article by, I think, Deputy Gregory in which he outlined the problems he encountered when trying to contact a suicide helpline. He brought this matter to the attention of the health board and this was acknowledged by the Minister in the Dáil.

There is no mandatory second-level education programme which addresses the issues of positive mental health, problem-solving skills and the development of self-esteem. In 2005, the Government will invest €15 million in the development of psychiatric services which is exactly one quarter of what was expended on the e-voting debacle.

I hope the Minister of State has read the document produced by Young Fine Gael which is available on-line and is very well thought out. Young Fine Gael calls for an advertising campaign using the media of television and cinema aimed at the detection of depression and suicidal tendencies among young people and a proactive nationwide campaign to address the stigma and taboo attached to the issue of life problems, mental illness, depression and suicide. The campaign will encourage young people to seek help and advice. However, it should be noted that suicide affects all ages and both genders. The document recommends the immediate implementation of a national support service to include sufficient funding for all voluntary groups, allowing them to adequately provide the services required and the provision of a tracking and long-term support service for those who present at accident and emergency units or to GPs, having partaken in parasuicide and deliberate self-harm. It recommends that a national strategy to co-ordinate suicide prevention needs be activated immediately to include the various strategies published since 1998 and the recommendation of the 1998 task force on suicide, the national youth work development plan and the Youth Work Act 2001. It recommends the provision of training for teachers in the detection of suicidal tendencies in second-level pupils. Higher rates of suicide exist among early school leavers and therefore special resources should be directed towards these young people. The Young Fine Gael document calls for an immediate increased investment in the mental health sector to increase the overall budget to the 1997 level of 11% with special attention paid to suicide prevention initiatives such as counselling.

Those points should be borne in mind by the Minister of State. The Young Fine Gael document is born out of frustration because while we are told the issue of suicide is receiving a lot of Government attention, we are not seeing the action that is needed. The key word in the Young Fine Gael recommendations——