David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader give an indication of when he would be prepared to take No. 36, motion 12, which is about the devastating war in the Congo? He indicated that he believed there was a possibility to put forward and pass an all-party motion early in this session. The motion has also gone through the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I add my voice to those who have raised the issue of suicide. It is a critical issue and it is devastating. We have among the highest rates of suicide in Europe of which we are aware. When I was younger we did not know this because it was concealed and it was, socially, a stigma. It is important that this be brought out in the open and the stigma removed. I suggest that it would be useful if some Government agency, or perhaps His Excellency, the President, who has had very useful consultations with young people, called together all these groups. I have discovered in recent years that there are a number of groups dealing with the issue of suicide, including Save Our Sons and Daughters, SOSAD, and Pieta House.

It is possible to detect the early symptoms and indicators of suicidal intentions, many of which I would not have thought of before I consulted with these groups. They include actions such as giving away a souvenir football, a jumper or a pair of ballet shoes or telephoning friends far away and so on. At that stage we must intervene or, as a friend, parent or relative, go in and say "Are you troubled?" If the person is not, then all one gets is a rebuff but one is unlikely to get a rebuff and it would show concern. It is important that we, as a community and a society, address this very tragic problem because it represents a permanent solution to what is almost invariably a temporary problem.