Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to make a statement in the House on the Government's current strategy for suicide prevention. Suicide affects all age groups and communities. Few of us escape being touched by the devastating effects of suicidal behaviour in our lifetime and the emotional, social and practical repercussions of suicide are felt by family members, friends, neighbours and work colleagues. Suicide knows no boundaries, geographical or political.

Reducing suicide rates requires a collective, concerted effort from all groups in society — health, social services, other professionals, communities and community leaders, and voluntary and statutory agencies. It also requires fostering the development of a culture in which people in psychological distress do not hesitate to seek help and one that recognises the signs and signals of distress and is willing to help. Thankfully, the level of discussion and openness on mental health issues, including suicide and self-harm, has increased significantly in recent years. This is a welcome development but we still have a long way to go.

The Mental Health Awareness and Attitudes Survey, January-February 2007 was commissioned by the National Office for Suicide Prevention, NOSP, to obtain a comprehensive view of attitudes to mental health among the adult population. The survey findings, which were launched in April this year, indicate that there appears to be a significant underestimation of the prevalence of mental health problems among the population, with only 5% of respondents in the survey stating that one in four people may have a mental health problem at some point in their life. Crucially, however, the research highlights specific areas where targeted education and awareness building are required.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of launching the national mental health awareness campaign to promote positive mental health, which is a joint initiative between the National Office for Suicide Prevention here in the South and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. The main aim of this campaign is to influence public attitudes to mental health. The campaign, which is designed specifically to alter negative attitudes and promote positive attitudes and a greater understanding of mental health, involves television and radio advertisements. An information booklet is available through the Health Service Executive information line and the Rehab Group's "Headsup" texting service is also being promoted. Since the campaign launch on 9 October, more than 1,000 information booklets have issued and 170 detailed queries about services were received. The website, www.yourmentalhealth.ie, has received 182,710 hits and 5,693 unique visits, with an average number of pages viewed per visit of 9.84. Bebo has received more than 12,000 profile views and 370 registered friends.

We live in an information age in which technology plays a significant role in our everyday life and the use of the Internet is especially prevalent among young people. In the area of suicide prevention the use of the Internet can be an ally and a foe. Recent media coverage has highlighted the issue of Internet prompted suicides which have brought a new and worrying dimension to our work. I am pleased to note the recent announcement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform regarding the establishment of an office for Internet safety and an Internet advisory council whose responsibilities include dealing with reports of illegal content on the Internet, developing Internet safety awareness campaigns and monitoring compliance with the Internet service provider industry code of practice. I hope to meet Internet providers shortly to discuss the effective use of the Internet in the area of suicide prevention and positive mental health. Ireland, as an island, is united in its efforts to tackle this and many other health issues.

I am grateful to the National Office for Suicide Prevention in the South, colleagues in the Department of Health, Social Security and Public Safety in Northern Ireland and the Health Protection Agency in the North for putting together the first all-island action plan for joint work on suicide prevention last year. I recently met my counterpart from Northern Ireland, Michael McGimpsey, and discussed the further development of our existing plan to provide for more North-South joint activity. Following that meeting I was pleased to announce the launch of a new deliberate self-harm registry pilot scheme in the Western Health and Social Services Board area of Northern Ireland. A national registry of deliberate self-harm has been operating in general hospitals in the Republic of Ireland since 2001. The registry pilot in Northern Ireland will help identify trends of self-harm across the island, which will help target resources more effectively. This is just one tangible example of how we can learn from each other in this area.

Self-harm services are in place in the majority of accident and emergency departments whereby, in addition to medical care, people presenting with deliberate self-harm also receive a psycho-social assessment, following which they are admitted to the treating hospital or psychiatric hospital or discharged. There are 32 posts of specialist nurse in accident and emergency departments to respond to deliberate self-harm presentations.

The National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork is examining best practice in this area to standardise the approach to service delivery. I would especially like to see further development of the service in respect of aftercare and follow-up services. I am pursuing this objective with the National Office for Suicide Prevention with a view to developing a more systematic approach to follow-up care.

Reach Out — National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014 states: "Information on suicidal behaviour is vital in order to guide the planning of effective services and supports". It also states that, based on current information sources, the potential "to answer fundamental questions about suicide has yet to be realised". Action 25.2 of Reach Out is to "establish a comprehensive, routine, national, confidential inquiry into deaths from unnatural causes including suicide, collating data from all of the relevant agencies". The action is to be "nformed by a commissioned scoping paper".