Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is a song that contains the following lines:

... suicide is painless,
It brings on many changes.

There is no doubt it brings on changes, although sadly none of those who have committed it has come back to tell us whether it is painless.
I refer to the 2013 guidelines Well-Being in Post-Primary Schools, which were jointly prepared by the Departments of Education and Skills and Health, and, in particular, the issue of teen suicide and the role of school guidance counsellors in supporting teenagers experiencing crisis. Ireland has the fourth highest rate of youth suicide in Europe, and suicide is among the top five causes of mortality in the 15-19 age bracket, according to CSO figures from 2012. In 2012, it was reported by the child and adolescent mental health service that one in ten children and adolescents had experienced mental health disorders which had an impact on their families, relationships, learning and day-to-day coping skills. Most schools now adopt a whole-school approach to mental health promotion, but regardless of how caring or supportive the school ethos may be, some young people require targeted and specific interventions when they are experiencing a crisis or displaying early signs of mental health difficulties. Imagine a guidance counsellor being approached by a child in a state of crisis and in need of immediate support who must say to the child, when the bell goes, to wait until he or she comes back from class. That is what is happening in our schools.
The 2012 Headstrong survey of 14,500 young Irish people aged between 12 and 25 years found that the most important factor for young people is the presence of a supportive adult in their lives. For those experiencing difficulties at home or with peers, the school guidance counsellor plays a critical role, as is acknowledged by numerous departmental supports which have existed on a statutory basis since the Education Act 1998, which provided for one-to-one counselling as a key part of the school guidance programme. In addition to providing one-to-one counselling, guidance counsellors are expertly positioned to know when to refer a young person to other medical professionals. I have been informed by guidance counsellors that, far from getting an increase in the number of guidance counsellor hours available to allow schools to deal effectively with the increasing prevalence of suicidal ideation and mental health difficulties, at least 200 schools are unable to provide any one-to-one counselling, and there has been a reduction of 59% overall in the time available for one-to-one counselling.
I visited a school in the north-west of this country, the principal of which sits in his car from 7 p.m. until midnight while the teachers monitor social networking sites. They report issues to the principal, who contacts parents to advise them that their children may be in trouble. This is not good enough. While I fully appreciate that guidance counselling falls under the remit of the Department of Education and Skills, the time has come to stop talking and start acting. We need counsellors to be available all day in our schools and we need a strong mental health programme. I have been in a school in which two children committed suicide. The suicide of a child must be the most devastating experience for any parent. I recall one student in my own college who was the brightest and cheeriest young woman I ever met. On the Friday when she left us she was in great form. Her parents told me they had spent the weekend with her, the likes of which they had not remembered in a long time. At 7 p.m. on Sunday evening, she went to a barn and hung herself. Not unlike Senator Crown, I have encountered suicide approximately 15 times over my life, including from drowning, hanging and overdoses. It is a pretty horrific thing. There is no answer left when it is over. I ask the Minister of State to work with her colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills to prioritise the provision of counselling in our schools on an ex quotabasis.