With the permission of the House, I should like to share my time with Deputy Neville who has undertaken a specific study of this problem.
Adjournment Debate. - Suicide Among Students.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
The findings of the ASTI survey are very disturbing, showing that more than one in eight schools has had the tragic experience of having one of its pupils commit suicide. It also shows that children are at risk and have committed suicide at extraordinarily young ages, onequarter having been aged 14 and under, long before the pressures of the examination system could have played a part. It further underlines the types of pressures there are on young people today and the need for an adequate response, both in the provision of pastoral care and psychological services to address this problem.
The Minister for Education should follow up the findings of this ASTI survey with more indepth research to ascertain the lessons to be learned from these sad experiences. He will see from this survey that it does not go into the background of any of the cases in question. If we are beginning to see the growth of suicide among young people in our schools it behoves him to engage in serious research on its causes and ascertain any lessons to be learned therefrom.
The teachers in this survey mention substance abuse, sexual abuse and bullying as some of the possible factors underlying emotional distress. I know this is an extremely complex area but there may well be lessons to be learned on the adequacy of existing life-skill programmes in our schools. For example, are such programmes being designated adequate time within the overall curriculum? Within the second-level curriculum I understand there is as yet no obligation on schools to provide such programmes at all. Is the style of such programmes as exists getting through to pupils in images they can appreciate?
This survey also reveals clear deficiencies in schools' capacity to mount effective preventive strategies. They have difficulty in resourcing pastoral care to the level they would like. Indeed the Minister will note statements emanating from the ASTI indicating that it is extremely difficult to obtain professional help, for example, psychological services, for which there are long waiting periods. Equally, the pressure of teaching on the pastoral care team renders it difficult for them to resource the type of requisite service to provide support for young people in emotional distress.
It is also clear there is no coherent response programme to help schools cope properly with the trauma to pupils, teachers and parents alike after such tragic occurrences. Indeed the ASTI is to be commended on developing guidelines for schools. There is an urgent need, however, for the Minister for Education and Science to develop and resource a proper strategy for dealing with this problem at both the preventative and response stages. The current resources for pastoral care and psychological support in the schools need to be greatly supplemented if this problem is to be addressed.
I thank Deputy Bruton and the House for allowing me to make a brief intervention. The problem of suicide among young people has been growing over the past 20 years. The current position is that more young men die as a result of suicide than in road traffic accidents. The ASTI report is one of a number of reports presented to the National Task Force on Suicide. The deliberations of the task force were completed in April of this year and I urge the Minister for Health and Children to immediately release the report to allow public debate on its findings. It is important that we examine and implement the report's recommendations because there is an urgent need for intervention in this area. The establishment of suitable prevention programmes, which have been successful in other countries and can be adapted to Irish society, is essential. I urge the Minister to ensure the early publication of the report of the task force.
I thank Deputy Bruton for raising this serious issue for debate. Earlier today my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, and I welcomed the publication of the survey of school principals conducted by the ASTI on the incidence of suicide in schools. The sudden death of any school pupil is a cause of deep sadness to myself and to the officials in my Department. For some time now, we have been surveying the research available on suicide and examining the implications for the educational system.
Recent Irish research, conducted by Dr. Michael Kelleher in 1996, has shown that suicide is now the second most common cause of death, after road traffic accidents, among Irish males between the ages of 15 and 24. It should be emphasised, however, that while suicide has increased markedly, particularly among males, it is still, statistically, a rare event.
The Department of Health and Children has established a National Task Force on Suicide, to which Deputy Neville made reference, and a National Suicide Research Bureau which will continue to monitor research findings. My Department has co-operated with both of these bodies. I understand that the report of the task force is at an advanced stage of preparation and will shortly be published. I will communicate Deputy Neville's request that it should be published immediately on its completion. My Department will closely examine the implications of its recommendations.
Current available research indicates that one of the major causes of suicide is illness, particularly depressive illness, with socio-economic factors also contributing. The psychiatric services provided by the health boards, and by voluntary agencies under their aegis, have the main responsibility for counselling people at risk of suicide, their families and the families of those who, tragically, have committed suicide. However, the ASTI survey, which I welcome, has provided helpful additional information regarding the pain and stress caused by the suicide of one student to all those in the school concerned, whether students or teachers.
If schools are to respond effectively to distressing events such as suicide, it is necessary that they should be places in which it is possible for those affected to express their feelings and emotions and to be supported in doing so. I believe my Department has a significant role to play in supporting schools in matters of suicide prevention and post-traumatic intervention.
In the aftermath of a traumatic event, such as a suicide in a school, support may be provided by the pastoral care system, the guidance counselling service in the school and the psychological service of the Department of Education and Science. I am concerned that as much advice and support as possible should be available from my Department for schools which have suffered any traumatic event such as suicide.
Programmes of in-career development in bereavement counselling for teachers and guidance counsellors are supported by my Department as requested. There is a standing joint committee of my Department and of the National Centre for Guidance in Education to monitor provision of guidance. The psychological service of my Department has procedures in place in relation to incidents of suicide. Concern about students who are considered to be at risk of suicide should be notified to the psychological service which will then liaise with its colleagues in the clinical services. If, tragically, a student should die, the relevant area psychologist is available to meet teaching staff and students and to offer advice to management on appropriate responses by the school. This support is available immediately and is provided in liaison with the local health board.
I realise that the psychologists working in schools have a heavy case load. For this and other reasons we announced earlier this year our intention to establish a national educational psychological service. The planning group for this service, which is representative of all the partners in education, has begun its work. The aim is to ensure that, eventually, psychological services will be readily available to all young people in schools as well as to those who have dropped out of school early. The terms of reference of the planning group include an examination of the links between educational and health services which will be necessary to ensure comprehensive psychological services. This development will facilitate support for schools which are trying to respond to traumatic events such as suicide.
I mentioned earlier the role that the educational system has in the prevention of suicide. The available evidence seems to indicate that specific "anti-suicide" programmes can be counter-productive. However, surveys cited by Dr. Michael Kelleher show that the education system can help to resolve some of the real problems encountered by those who eventually, and unfortunately, commit suicide. The provision, accessibility and quality of formal education is a key element in providing the kind of environment necessary to reduce significantly the incidence of suicidal behaviour. Those most likely to become early school leavers seem to be particularly at risk. They should be identified early and efforts made to keep them in school for as long as is feasible. This is already central to my Department's policy.
It has been suggested that the fact that male students seem to be particularly at risk may be explained by a reluctance to express their feelings and to seek counselling. It is my Department's policy that boys' schooling should be broadened, where necessary, to encompass emotional as well as intellectual development. Relevant programmes are being promoted in the context of the implementation of the Department's policy on gender equity.
Surveys of effective suicide prevention programmes in other countries show that the same principles have been used as those which apply in accident prevention programmes. One of these principles highlights the need to help young people to alter behaviour that puts them at risk. My Department's substance misuse prevention programme also emphasises the development of self-esteem which can be a crucial factor in the prevention of suicide. These programmes are to be incorporated in the social, personal and health education curricula and syllabi being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for both primary and post-primary schools. We will give careful consideration to ways in which these social, personal and health education programmes will be introduced so that every school can have, as a key objective, the promotion of good mental health.
I might also mention that, at my instigation, the Department of Education and Science recently provided the funding for a survey, in conjunction with the National Youth Council of Ireland, to assess the attitudes of our young people across a broad range of social issues. I firmly believe that this survey when complete will provide invaluable information to further inform my Department's policies in relation to the problems and issues facing our young people as instanced by the young people themselves.
The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 November 1997.