The Deputy refers to a report, published in 2005 and authored by the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Research, St. Vincent's University Hospital and University College Dublin, entitled “Suicide Among Regular-Duty Military Personnel: A Retrospective Case-Control Study of Occupation-Specific Risk Factors for Workplace Suicide”. The study was not a study commissioned by the Defence Forces.
The Defence Forces is fully alert in relation to suicide awareness and prevention, issues of depression and other mental health issues among its personnel, particularly given the nature of their role and personnel access to firearms and weapons, which could be a source of self-harm, or harm to other members of the Defence Forces or the wider public.
The Defence Forces, through their Personnel Support Services (PSS), and working closely with the HSE, have and continue to engage in extensive suicide awareness and education programmes for all members of the Defence Forces. These programmes include:-
- Issuing an “Information Guide on Mental Health and Well Being in the Defence Forces”;
- Issuing and giving presentations on “Defence Forces Guidelines on Suicide”;
- Running courses on “Suicide and Self Harm Awareness”;
- Providing access to “Mental Fitness” programmes through the Defence Forces Intranet;
- Providing WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) training to all PSS personnel;
- Conducting STORM (Skills Training on Risk Management in suicide and self harm mitigation) training with all overseas units;
- Providing ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) training in conjunction with the HSE;
- Conducting Safe Talk training within the Defence Forces; and
- Providing CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) training for all personnel.
There is a PSS office in every major military installation, with one or more qualified Barrack PSS Officers. The role of the Barrack PSS Office includes providing information, assistance and counselling on a range of matters including interpersonal problems, stress, bereavement, housing, education, taxation, social welfare and retirement. As part of the PSS office civilian social workers are also available to support Defence Forces personnel and their families. In addition an independent and strictly confidential 24 hour care-line, manned by trained counsellors, is available to all Defence Forces personnel.
In parallel with the work already underway in the Defence Forces, in June 2015, the Government launched Connecting for Life, Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015-2020. The strategy sets a target to reduce suicide and self-harm by 10% over the next five years. A National Cross-Sectoral Steering and Implementation Group has been set up to oversee its implementation and the Department of Defence is represented on the Steering Group. The Department of Defence has been tasked with lead responsibility for the following actions in the strategy:-
- Integrate suicide prevention principles into relevant national Department of Defence policies and programmes, which cover persons in the Defence Forces who are vulnerable/at risk of suicide.
- Continue to deliver suicide prevention training to personnel dealing with persons who are vulnerable/at risk of suicide within the Defence Forces.
The function of the Medical Corps of the Defence Forces is to provide medical services to serving members of the Defence Forces and where required, any serving member of the Defence Forces can be referred to psychiatry services, normally through a Medical Officer or contract General Practitioner. It is not the function of the Medical Corps of the Defence Forces, nor has it the capacity, to provide medical services, including counselling, psychology or psychiatric services, to former members of the Defence Forces. The White Paper on Defence, does however include a commitment that, if a member of the Defence Forces is currently availing of the external independent counselling service at the date they leave the organisation, they will be entitled to finish out the counselling sessions (subject to the maximum of six (6) sessions).
