John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

The article states:

Suicide is an emotive subject on which it is all too easy to stir up public indignation... Whenever someone, especially a young person, takes their own life, there will always be a willing market for a politician or pundit who demands that something must be done... The State cannot stop your relationships ending, or your loved ones dying; they cannot stop people failing their exams, losing their jobs, hating their lives. Misery cannot be legislated away.

How can any of us read these words and not approach this debate without some sense of trepidation? Senator Browne may have interpreted that I am being critical of Fine Gael, but I am not. I am merely acknowledging our right as politicians to speak on this issue.

My second concern is that many of the debates on suicide are reduced to a web of words spun around numbers and statistics such as the incidence of deaths and the levels of investment. Numbers and statistics will be bandied about to an extent that the humanity of the topic is lost. I am glad that the Minister, in his speech today, gave us a combination of the necessary statistics and the actions of the Government but also apportioned a great part of his speech to the human side of all of this. I intend to complete my contribution without uttering a single number or statistic, and to concentrate on the human side of the issue.

I wish to contribute to this debate because of the issue of stigma, which has been central to suicide in Ireland for many years. For too long, if someone died by suicide, there existed a stark silence and a lack of support for the bereaved. This undoubtedly made grieving the loss of the loved one even more difficult. The silence was often excused as merely being respectful. Even the media engaged in this by reporting suicide as a death in tragic circumstances or by using some similar phrase. This euphemism only served to stigmatise and isolate those bereaved families. It also left society paralysed by the fear of suicide. There is a need across the country to de-stigmatise suicide by breaking the silence.

A leading doctor has written on the subject of stigma and states:

We can heal from our injuries and our suffering. If we have a healthy environment, healthy behaviours, healthy relationships, we will recover. We need to identify our histories of trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, and loss. We need to overcome denial on all of our behaviours.

This means dealing with the stigma associated with suicide. Speaking about suicide and its impact represents a key part of removing the stigma. Removing the stigma has been identified as central to tackling the issue. The reasons for the stigma are numerous. Even the phrase "to commit suicide" attaches a stigma. The word "commit" is associated with crime or error. Given that suicide was decriminalised in this State over ten years ago, the phrase " to commit suicide" should be avoided.

In many cases, we cannot know whether suicide was intended. I have been close to two people who committed suicide. Both tried to correct their actions after the act of self-harm and prior to death. I contend that neither of these people committed suicide. For each family, this was an important fact in the death of their loved one. However, both people were classified as having committed suicide.

The view has been expressed that people should not think ill of a person who died by suicide. People should, in fact, not have that opportunity, just as they no longer have it in regard to children born out of marriage. It is no longer acceptable to speak of illegitimate children. The removal of moralistic stigma was overdue for children and it is overdue for those who die as a result of suicide and their families.

I offer gratitude to the Irish Association of Suicidology for its work in this area. As we heard in earlier contributions, the association was founded in 1996 by Dr. John Connolly, the late Dr. Michael Kelleher, who was known personally to the Minister of State and Senator Ryan, and Deputy Neville. It is to be commended on its aim to disseminate information about suicide and suicide prevention so that public opinion can respond to the issue in an informed manner. The information it offers about the stigma associated with suicide and its work to debunk media myths are worth particular mention.

The myth is perpetuated that talking about suicide encourages it. The association observes that some people worry that talking about suicide could lead to a general perception that suicide is acceptable and a reasonable action to take. However, the IAS argues that allowing people to talk through their worst fears and feelings may provide them with a lifeline that makes all the difference between choosing life and choosing to die. I support the view that responsible discussion will also educate society about suicide without giving encouragement to susceptible people to attempt it. For this reason, I support the statements in the House today.

Echoing the concerns I set out earlier, the IAS states that positive explanation of suicide in a sensitive way can help to educate and destigmatise the issues of suicide and attempted suicide. I agree with the association's view that suicide is a legitimate topic for serious discussion in the media, like other mental health issues. However, its presentation should be undertaken with great care. As politicians, we must be careful not to leave ourselves open, fairly or unfairly, to accusations of "astute populist tactics", as stated in last week's Sunday Independent.

To ensure this is not the case, and to ensure that our contributions are truly helpful, I refer Members to the advice of the IAS. The focus should be on educating and informing the public rather than trying to shock, present graphic details or, worse, titillate. I do not wish to initiate an argument with elements of the media. However, I point to the publication in recent days of a sequence of photographs of a man who jumped into a river. This was offensive and intrusive. Should we accept lectures on our contributions when the media is guilty of this type of intrusion on a man's fears, concerns and worries by publishing his photograph so legibly?