Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that suicide is the nation's silent crisis, in spite of the good work and the great efforts of many organisations, volunteers and professionals who are working in the community, making themselves available and providing hope where they are given the opportunity to do so. The statistics speak for themselves. How often have we said in this House that the statistics are a wake-up call? Year in, year out, we have been making the same points here. We all know somebody, perhaps many people, who took their own lives. To us these people appeared to be exceptionally normal, and it would not have been evident that they had any problem that would drive them to suicide. When we hear of suicides we are absolutely bewildered as to why people did not ask for help. There is no single issue where suicide is concerned, as is evident from the age groups. Suicide affects all age groups and all strata of society. Therefore, one cannot pin down precisely what has happened. In a fundamental way, society, community life and old-style interactions have changed, as has family life. In the old days there was always one parent at home to provide a listening ear for the big problems and the small problems, but that is no longer the case.

The only place where we might find some indication as to what puts a person in that position is the unfortunate, sad and tragic suicide note which is often left behind. I saw one recently that was left by a young man who had everything to look forward to in a rural town in Munster. That suicide note simply made the point that he was into drugs, was not able to pay his bills and was being bullied and threatened. The question one asks in that particular case is why he did not turn to someone - either his parents, his friends, his relations or the Garda. That does not happen. These are the types of question we have to ask ourselves. Is there something missing so far as that is concerned? People who commit suicide have decided they are no longer able to take whatever stresses or pressures they may have and no can longer see any light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing could be further from the truth, because there is hope and there is always a listening ear. There are always people who will talk through the problem, and if a person is being threatened or bullied something will be done.

Let us look at young students who have taken their lives and have posted messages in which they said they could no longer bear the bullying they had to put up with in school. In America, in one of those cases, four young students were prosecuted for doing precisely that. I do not think prosecution offers any answer in the bigger picture. I wonder why that young person who is being bullied does not feel there is someone to listen. That is why I am a little disappointed at the downgrading of guidance counselling in secondary schools. From my knowledge of the service, there was a person in the counselling room who provided a confidential service. The services of that guidance counsellor were not always used to discuss careers. That is not what it was always about. That should be looked at. The provision of guidance counsellors in primary schools should also be examined, as that would be a step in the right direction. There were 475 suicides last year, but, as Console has made clear, the number may be much higher if some of the drownings and car crashes that occur are also linked to suicide.