Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the Bill. It will open up the options afforded to the coroner to include iatrogenic suicide, or suicide as a direct result of the effects of medication. I appeal to the Minister to allow this to be the coroner's responsibility. Let coroners do their job. They are professionals and will make prudent decisions about unintended effects. Please allow the Bill to progress through the Houses.

This legislation follows tough campaigning and Trojan work by parents Stephanie and John and other avid campaigners, who are in the Gallery. Jake, their baby of 14 years, died tragically by iatrogenic suicide in 2013. During my experience as a psychiatric nurse of more than 30 years, I encountered many people - not necessarily young ones - who felt a deterioration in their mental health after being put on antidepressants. One size does not suit all. They questioned why dark thoughts were causing them greater difficulties than had they not been on these medications. When we titrated the medications down in a safe way, those thoughts cleared and we could deal with the other effects of depression.

Many people placed on these medications experience suicidality, initial or increased self-harming and an exacerbation of depression. These effects are written in the world renowned British National Formulary, BNF, as adverse effects of Prozac, especially on people aged between seven and 17 years.

We have lost thousands of young people throughout the world. Stephanie and John have been warriors struggling in the four and a half years since their tragedy to protect the children of the future. This country has a dubious medication policy. Perhaps that is an argument for another day, but everyone needs to accept that iatrogenic suicide is real and needs to be addressed. The coroner needs to have that option available.

We need to question risk assessment. Was any risk assessment carried out on Jake or several of the thousand other young people who have been lost? What about the contra-indications of Prozac? The adverse side effects are too stark to ignore. Having previously showed no suicidal ideation or self-harm, the damage caused to these young people's mental health as they grow up is tragic, as it was in the case of Jake.

The length of prescriptions, their dosage, reviews, re-assessments and monitoring for clinical deterioration and other unusual changes need to be at the forefront. These factors will be taken into account in the coroner's ruling if he or she believes that a death was iatrogenic suicide. I have been in the coroner's court several times following tragedies. I saw coroners repeatedly refuse to rule misadventure. It is the open verdict that Stephanie and John accepted with a view to pushing the option of ruling iatrogenic suicide.

Stephanie and John are pleading with the Minister. They ask him not to stop now. Having done this for four and a half years, they say that he needs to put this measure into action. They write:

We are not just looking for someone to blame. Antidepressant-induced suicide is in actual fact a worldwide problem and there is a mountain of evidence and academic support backing this up....

Most changes that are brought in with new legislation are due to tragic circumstances, [we] are not trying to change the world. We are simply trying to get legislation updated to allow Jake to have the correct verdict that fits his death.

I ask the Minister to please listen.