Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

Initially I had intended to speak in support of Senator Susan O'Keeffe in her call for a day long debate on the horrific suicide figures published by the CSO in the past 24 hours. It is the biggest crisis facing the country. As previous speakers said, 525 people lost their lives by suicide, of whom 439 were male. We must question why so many males, particularly young men, decide to end their lives by suicide. There are two issues involved - insufficient suicide prevention programmes and insufficient investment in mental health services. In this year's budget €35 million has been ring-fenced for mental health services, but we need to ascertain whether it is being used for that purpose. In 2006 and 2007 moneys allocated for mental health services were spent elsewhere; therefore, there is a deficit to be closed. I strongly support the call for a discussion on this major issue. Twice as many people lose their lives by suicide as are killed on the roads. Significant resources have been made available to tackle the issue of road deaths; we need to show the same urgency, give the same attention and provide the same resources in dealing with the issue of suicide. I hope the Leader will arrange for a debate in the early part of the next session and invite all of the relevant Ministers who can play their part in tackling the crisis once and for all to attend.