James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the last speaker that we should be prepared to discuss these issues and I fully accept the good intentions behind the Bill. However, I feel it is my duty as a prescribing doctor to correct some of the statements made by Senator Norris, whom I heard state that Prozac was absolutely contra-indicated in people with Asperger's syndrome. This is not the case. It needs to be prescribed with great care, as is the case with any antidepressant in young people. There is a much higher incidence of younger people, in particular those aged under 18, developing anxiety and they are becoming increasingly depressed when on these medications so prescribing is often done under very strict supervision, often by a psychiatrist.

It is not my intention today, out of respect to the family and the Chamber, to talk about specific instances and my sympathies are with the family who have lost a young man in these circumstances. However, the Coroners Society of Ireland is in discussions with the Department of Justice and Equality on a Bill related to the Coroners Act and the Government has made the passage of a Bill a priority for this Dáil session. The Minister might tell us what stage it has reached.

I believe this Bill is premature and it does not seem appropriate to insert it into a Bill relating to the preservation of documents. This does not mean I believe we should not be discussing this important issue and the issue of suicide. It does not mean we should not discuss the impact it has on families or what we can do to support young people and help them share their worries and concerns. As somebody who practises medicine, I stress that I am not trying to shield doctors who engage in bad practice. We have to have a proper, reasoned discussion and deal with it in a full way as we will do in the new Bill which is coming, and this will ensure that unintended consequences do not follow. It will be dealt with in an appropriate way and in a way that will afford everybody in this Chamber an opportunity to debate it at length. On that basis, I will oppose the Bill but I do so on the clear understanding that this issue will come before us again in the shape of the coroners Bill which the Minister is preparing.