Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Make no mistake, there is a national crisis of suicide. The rate of suicide has increased due to a lack of employment for young men and other people. Mental health stress has increased substantially because of the economic situation and particularly because young people do not have jobs. When I co-founded Lír Chocolates in 1987, I saw the transformation in a person who got a job. The person's self-confidence changed completely. The increasing rate of unemployment is breaking the hearts and souls of young and middle-aged Irish men who cannot find a job. The Government must stop merely writing reports and spend the ¤35 million it said it would last year. Stop writing action plans for jobs and create more jobs.