Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

What a pleasure it is to be back in our own Chamber. I hope that as we approach the lifting of restrictions on 22 October, other aspects of life in Leinster House will likewise return to normal.

I wish to call for a debate on what is to be done about the horrific instances of murder-suicides in rural farming communities. Yesterday morning, a woman and her 24-year-old son were laid to rest in County Kerry. They were kind and gentle people taken from us by a wanton act of violence. The tragedy comes while the terrible happenings in Kanturk, County Cork on 26 October last year, when father and brother turned on their own family and then on themselves, are still fresh in our minds. Although the prevalence of firearms in these communities enables these vicious acts, it is all too often land or farm ownership disputes that cause them. We need to examine critically the processes or programmes in place to educate farming families on their rights in respect of disinheritance and land ownership protection. We need a dedicated support process for families engaged in disputes over wills. We need to look at the role that can be played by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and his Department, as well as the Irish Farmers Association, in the provision of mental health supports in rural communities. The increased attention being paid to mental health in recent years is of immense importance but we cannot allow it to be confined to students' unions and Twitter campaigns. These senseless killings and suicides will only become more prevalent if the underlying issues are not addressed. It is safe to say that in every parish in the countryside there is a family farm affected by land disputes and farmers listening to these proceedings will know someone affected. We have seen in the past year and a half the lengths to which we will go to protect lives. Let us protect these lives also.