Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

It is a pleasure to be back in the Seanad. I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on her role. I thank Senator Andrews for raising this important issue. Every death by suicide has a devastating effect on the families, loved ones and entire community who are affected. Suicide and self-harm reduction are a priority for me as Minister of State and for Government as a whole. Just two days ago, I brought a memo to Cabinet to update Government on our work to improve suicide prevention in Ireland, including access to services and work on our new suicide reduction policy. Thankfully, I was able to update colleagues on the fact that suicide rates are declining in Ireland and between 2000 and 2021, the last year for which we have official figures, the rate had declined by over 25%. Additionally, the recently published National Suicide Research Foundation self-harm registry report highlights that, between 2010 and 2023, self-harm rates decreased by 12%, which is really welcome. As the Senator said, preliminary figures record 302 deaths by suicide in 2023. That is the lowest preliminary figure in over 20 years. For example, the rate in 2022 was 410 initially, upgraded to 436, so it was a significant reduction. There is a significant time lag in reporting on deaths by suicide, and the number of 302 will be revised upwards as coroners' investigations conclude, but the overall decline shows progress in suicide reduction in Ireland. It is welcome, but I understand and have said that we have so much more to do, particularly in terms of access to services.

When one looks at the suicide figures - it is something I spend a lot of time on - one sees that approximately 80% of all suicides in Ireland are male and 20% are female. Of all the counselling supports that are provided across the country, two thirds are accessed by women but only one third are accessed by males. There is an onus on all of us to try to support and encourage men, especially young men but also middle-aged and older men, to reach out and access counselling supports. Women will speak more freely. They will sit down with someone, have a cup of tea and speak about how they are feeling, their emotional well-being, their peace of mind and whether they are depressed, lonely or struggling. There is a big onus on all of us to do that.

The Senator spoke about private charities. My budget this year has allocated €100 million to organisations such as Jigsaw, Pieta, MyMind, SpunOut and the Samaritans. That is €100 million, and I want to commend and compliment Pieta for the work it does. I increased its budget this year and it does a phenomenal amount of work. I have a great working relationship with it and would encourage everyone to get out and walk for Darkness into Light on Friday night into Saturday morning. It is a great experience and you see many people walking there who are bereaved by suicide. It does help, and the support they get is really important.

This year, I have secured €2 million to specifically target men who require counselling. I am focusing on those who do not have medical cards, as we provide counselling under the counselling in primary care, CIPC, service. We are working on how to ensure that men who need counselling but are unable to afford it can get counselling free of charge through their GPs.

I believe there is no health without mental health and that suicide is everybody's business. I would encourage everybody not to be afraid to speak about it. I welcome the opportunity to come to the Seanad today to speak about it. I will touch on the Dublin services in the next piece.