Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Sep 1999

Vol. 508 No. 2

Written Answers. - Suicide Incidence.

Emmet Stagg

Question:

29 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will provide details of child suicide rates for the past three years for which figures are available; and the measures, if any, his Department is taking to address the problem. [18316/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

The suicide rate and actual number of suicides among persons up to 19 years for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998 are set out in the following tables. Figures for 1997 and 1998 are provisional figures based on year of registration.

Age Group	Number of deaths	1996	1997	1998	Rates per 100,000 of Population	1996	1997	1998
0-4 years	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0.00
5-9 years	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0.00
10-14 years	4	8	1	1.23	2.52	0.32
15-19 years	35	33	52	10.31	9.60	15.00

Since the publication of the report of the National Task Force on Suicide in 1998, there has been a positive and committed response among both the statutory and voluntary sectors towards finding ways of tackling this tragic problem.

The suicide research group which has been established by the chief executive officers of the health boards is central to the strategy to prevent and reduce suicide and attempted suicide. The group's main responsibilities include reviewing ongoing trends in suicide and parasuicide, co-ordinating research into suicide and making recommendations to the chief executive officers of health boards to help reverse the growing incidence of suicide. The group recognised the need for research/resource support to assist it in carrying out the tasks covered by the task force report and has now appointed a research co-ordinator to proceed with this important work.

All health boards have appointed resource officers and have established multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary working groups to examine the implementation of the recommendations of the report. They are engaged in a range of activities including the promotion of positive mental health and the de-stigmatisation of suicide, provision of information in relation to suicide and parasuicide, liaison with the media and provision of training for staff in relation to suicide and parasuicide. Health boards are examining ways in which mental health services can be made more accessible to vulnerable groups, such as young males and the provision of crisis intervention services is being examined by a number of boards. Additional funding of £1.378 million has been provided in 1999 to further develop consultant led child and adolescent services which will assist in the early identification of suicidal behaviour among young people and provide necessary support and treatment to individuals at risk. Each health board now has dedicated child and adolescent psychiatric services headed by a consultant psychiatrist. It is my intention to further develop this service as resources permit.

An important development in the education sector, which will promote self-esteem and self-confidence and enable students to develop personal and social skills, is the approval by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment of a social, personal and health education syllabus for primary schools and the junior cycle for post-primary schools. This programme has been developed by the Department of Education and Science in association with the health promotion unit of the Department of Health and Children.