Mary Moran (Labour)

I also wish to raise something I mentioned on yesterday's Order of Business. Last week, it was reported that there were 190 deaths by suicide in County Cork between September 2008 and March 2011. I refer to just one aspect of the report which could be echoed throughout the country. It discovered that in the year before their death more than 80% of the people studied had been in contact with their GP and the majority had contacted their GP four or more times in the year before their death. This highlights a major issue that needs to be investigated. This disturbing statistic demonstrates the need for more awareness among GPs and health officials to recognise the signs that people may be in danger of showing suicide tendencies. I welcome the initiative by the National Office for Suicide Prevention, which is in the process of implementing training for GPs. However, people who are known to suffer from depression or who have attempted suicide should have greater access to aftercare. I recently spoke to a person who spent 11 weeks under the care of a consultant who then discharged him into the care of a registrar on leaving hospital with no follow-up treatment.