Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the chairperson of the loneliness task force, I am pleased to discuss the report entitled A Connected Island: An Ireland Free From Loneliness. I express my sincere appreciation to the organisations and individuals who helped prepare the report and made submissions to same. Their input was vital in informing the task force's work and ensuring we all had a thorough understanding of the challenges throughout our country and in the wider world.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his presence here today. We need to ask ourselves why loneliness is such a big issue. Let me explain why. Loneliness is by far the most unrecognised health crisis of our generation. Loneliness does not discriminate between young or old, rich or poor, and urban or rural. Loneliness has reached epidemic levels and we all need to play our own part in this battle, including the Government.

As a physician, I do not throw around a word like "epidemic" lightly. There are many reasons loneliness is by far the most unrecognised health crisis of this generation. The first is the fact that loneliness is a major public health risk for individuals, with significant international research linking loneliness to physical and psychological health issues. Loneliness is as harmful a smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The second issue is the fact that loneliness is a major social problem and, incorrectly, is often assumed to impact only on the elderly. The impact of loneliness cuts right across society, age, gender, ethnicity, and economic or social strata. The third issue is that loneliness is a major economic problem. Research from the London School of Economics suggests that loneliness costs UK employers £2.5 billion per year.

I, Seán Moynihan, the CEO of ALONE, and others came together and said we need to fight this. Loneliness is a scourge on our society, so what can we do? We need students like those from Mercy College, Coolock, who have taken a proactive stance and are raising awareness about elderly isolation in their local community.

We believe that the report is only the start of the process. The task force will meet next week. There is a group in the Seanad today from Mount Mercy College in Bishopstown, County Cork. I welcome them here today as they are seated in the Visitors Gallery. They are doing a great job of raising awareness about loneliness and for ALONE. We need to create awareness about the issue of loneliness and its devastating impact. Related to this is how we can engage with people who may be lonely or at risk of being lonely to encourage them to engage themselves and get active if they can. We can change the conversation in Ireland about loneliness. We can beat loneliness one conversation at a time. I particularly salute the work done, as part of an initiative called Never Home Alone, by a group of students and their teacher, Mr. Stephen McKee, from Eureka College in Kells.

One does not need to be a doctor to intervene and tackle loneliness. Anyone can help another person to feel less lonely, and the work these groups are doing shows that. In Ireland we are blessed with an incredible volunteer spirit and network of organisations that provide outlets that help alleviate loneliness.

We need to catalyse change from the top down starting with Government, State agencies and public bodies. Such change cannot be left solely to the community and voluntary sector. By every international standard, Ireland is healthy, wealthy and well-educated country. We have more opportunities to connect through technology than ever before. Despite this, in the most interconnected period in history, using a range of communication methods available on mobiles phones, laptops and tablets, how is it that people are lonelier than ever? The importance of personal contact and human interaction with others cannot be superseded just by technology. We know from psychologists that many young people who are incredibly connected online may experience immense loneliness, in part because of the absence of meaningful personal and human contact. That is why an awareness campaign is needed for the public sector and State agencies, and for us as citizens. For example, loneliness was notably absent from the Healthy Ireland plan, which proves the lack of awareness around this topic.

Fr. Brian D'Arcy has described loneliness as the last taboo in Ireland and he is completely right. Why is it that I meet patients in my practice who are quite ready to say they are depressed, but when I have spoken to them it is clear that they feel isolated? They are lonely, not depressed. Loneliness is a taboo subject that needs to be banished. An awareness campaign would go a long way to helping people admit that they are lonely and to seek support while at the same time encouraging volunteerism with great organisations such as ALONE or Age Action.

I am very grateful that task force members have jumped on board in terms of this initiative. They come from very reflective sectors and represent community and voluntary organisations such as nursing, sport, business, medicine, youth work, psychiatry and non-governmental organisations, NGOs. When these people were asked to join the task force, there was no hesitation. Everyone was happy to play their part and that demonstrated to me that there is a big appetite to tackle this issue. We do not believe we need a dedicated Ministry. We would like, however, one Minister to take responsibility and ensure short-term measures are implemented immediately and a long-term strategy is put in place.A total of 310 separate submissions were received by the loneliness task force. We really appreciate the interest and passion for addressing the scourge of loneliness. This is an extract from just one of those submissions. It is from a student:

I’m in college in Queens Belfast and I’m finding it very hard. Not from an academic point of view, but just meeting people and that. It’s Monday afternoon and I realise I’ve spoken to nobody since last Thursday and I interact with the world via twitter and Instagram. I train every day and I run 4 times a week. I’m lonely, there you go, I’ve finally said it.

The number of submissions we received was far greater than we had anticipated or imagined. Some contributions set out very practical proposals and others told of their experiences with loneliness and social isolation. I want to acknowledge the many people who got in touch with offers of assistance. It was truly heart-warming to read the messages from people saying they would be happy to help in any way they could, that they would volunteer in a befriending service or that they would take the first step and reach out to somebody.

Loneliness is the public health crisis of our generation but addressing it would present one of the greatest opportunities to build a kinder and less divisive society. The presence of a supportive person in one’s life cannot be underestimated and this need for friendship, support and meaningful relationships does not fizzle out with age. Whether we are 24 or 84, we all need connections that matter. To paraphrase W.B. Yeats, there should be no such thing as strangers in Ireland, only friends we have not yet met.

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to attend on behalf of the Government and for listening to our case. I ask all Senators to support the findings of the report. I especially ask the Minister of State to consider the request for funding from the task force to promote Ireland-based research. Much of the research we depend on now is UK-based. The task force asked for €3 million in funding and I do not believe it is an exorbitant amount.