Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I plead with the Leader to arrange before the end of the session for the Minister for Health and Children to come to the Seanad to discuss what she and the HSE are doing about the national crisis of suicide in the community. At a time when the number of suicides is increasing, the funding of the suicide prevention organisation has been cut back. My evidence is from the organisations which deal with suicide. There is disbelief because they know there are many more suicides. There have been clusters of suicides and nothing has been done about them. I want to see the Government deliver what it promised in the programme for Government, namely, that it would reduce the rate of suicide by 20% by 2012. The European Alliance Against Depression indicated that four proven community-led methods can bring down the rate of suicide by 24% over two years.

Almost 500 people in this country die from suicide each year and I want to know why the energy of the Department of Health and Children, the HSE and the Minister is not being galvanised. If 500 people a year were dying from swine flu, a national emergency would be declared, but this is being ignored. Much of the reason for this is that the stigma of mental illness and suicide is still very evident. I tabled a motion at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting - it was the only motion tabled - and I got super support from my colleagues on this. I am pleading. It is not worth my while coming to the Seanad unless the Minister for Health and Children can come to the House and inform Members why she is not addressing this national crisis of suicide.