Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the promise by the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, that he will bring proposals on alcohol policy to Government in the near future. Many of us have spoken about this in recent days and there is concern that the Government has not been fully alert to the sheer urgency of a new, fresh approach to the problem of alcohol in our society. We will await delivery on what the Minister of State has promised.

I refer to another issue that troubles me and to what Senator Comiskey said about the relevance and importance of the issue of suicide. It is a very sensitive issue. I am also conscious there is an argument to be had about the vacancy in the National Office for Suicide Prevention. However, I wonder whether we are inclined to be overly focused on technical debates about those kind of issues. I am very challenged by what I see reported from Dr. Tony Bates who asks whether the debate on suicide is in itself a part of the problem. We often think we should be lancing taboos in society and the more we talk about things, the more we can make problems go away and this is probably true in the case of a range of issues. However, Dr. Bates's argument is very challenging because he asks whether all of the focus on suicide such as the proliferation of organisations and the good work of fund-raising for suicide awareness initiatives could in itself be part of some social permission for people, that it implies normalisation. This is a very sensitive issue and his point could be regarded as being controversial but it is important to approach a debate in a real spirit of truthfulness. I do not know what is best to propose to the House about it because if we ask for a further debate then we must consider whether we are contributing to the very problem that Dr. Bates is hinting at. One thing is sure and it touches on what I said yesterday in another context about child behaviour issues in schools. I will not use the phrase, "man up" as it is not inclusive language but we need to have the debate about values in our society, about what is going on in people's hearts, minds and souls. As politicians we can become too distracted by the day-to-day technical issues which we must deal with but unless we are serious about promoting a culture of deep respect for the dignity of the human person and deep reflection about what is contributing to people's consolation and to their desolation in our world at this time, then perhaps we are really not performing the public service that is demanded of us.