Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the matter of the new report published by a cross-Border forum on young men and suicide. Myself and the Leader of the Seanad, Senator Maurice Cummins, spent the weekend on a cross-Border forum on trafficking and prostitution. There are good reports coming from the cross-Border groups including, in particular, this report on suicide. I am not involved in the forum. Dr. Noel Richardson is the lead author of the report and it was in the news again this morning. It is being published today. The report has shown that the rate of young male suicide is the highest in the European Union. We all know that it is a serious problem but this is particularly the case in Ireland for young males. The rates for other types of suicide are at the average, although there is nothing average or normal about suicide. However, there is a public health issue and a moral requirement on us as politicians to act and to ensure that we try to do something about this situation.

There are 12 recommendations in the report. One relates to male machismo and so on and that is an issue. Early intervention with children is important and we need to say to males in particular that it is okay for a man to cry and to express his emotions. I am calling for the Seanad to take a lead on this issue and to invite in the authors of the report on a cross-Border basis, North and South. We should also invite the various organisations to the Seanad.