Mary White (Fianna Fail)

The front page of the The Examiner today carries a story on the increasing incidence of suicide among the elderly, while page 2 of The Irish Times carries the headline " 'Growing trend' of suicide among older people". How many times have I mentioned this subject in a passionate way? At the Joint Committee on Health and Children I pleaded with the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, to provide for more investment to deal with the issue of suicide. The growing trend of suicide among older people highlighted in both newspapers is put down to isolation which leads to loneliness, sickness and depression. My All Ireland Inspirational Life Award was devised to put the spotlight on the contribution of older people to society. In December in every county on the island an older person was nominated. The pleasure and self-confidence given when older people receive recognition for their contribution to society have to be seen and felt to be believed. I have now taken an initiative to deal with the issue of suicide on the island of Ireland. I am organising a conference in the Holy Cross Monastery at the end of May with the key professors of psychiatry, North and South. I will drive the discussion on the issue of suicide on the island in the same way as I drove the All Ireland Inspirational Life Award.

I will offer a brutal comparison. There was a coroner's report from County Offaly this week and a report today from a coroner in south Kerry, both of which stated older people were isolated. Each one of us has a personal responsibility to help and listen to others, to listen for their silent cry for help. I can put the issue in dramatic form. A total of 525 people died by suicide in the Twenty-six Counties in 2009. A Boeing 747 jet holds 524 people-----