The recent announcement that 504 people, comprising 421 males and 83 females, suffered death by suicide last year represents an increase of 16 per cent on the 1997 figure. In the past five years there has been an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent in the levels of suicide. A total of 257 of those who died through suicide last year were under the age of 35. An increase in the levels of suicide is not just a serious issue; it is a crisis and action must be taken. The Minister must, as a matter of urgency, introduce in full the recommendations of the National Task Force on Suicide, which were published in January of 1998.
While health boards have commenced structures to examine the situation and research is continuing the overall thrust of the report is not being implemented. The Minister and the Government should not delay any further the introduction of the recommendations of the task force. There is a serious failure in the Government on this issue. It is not acceptable that this serious public health issue is not being addressed.
One of the key recommendations of the task force was the provision of an extensive network of community-based psychiatric services, bringing specialised, multidisciplinary psychiatric services within the reach and accessibility of all citizens and referral agencies so that psychiatric services would be readily available and acceptable to all. It was the view of the task force that this would lead to more frequent and earlier referral of potential suicidal patients and enable them to receive earlier and more effective treatment.
In 1998 the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science announced that programmes would be introduced in second level schools in relation to positive mental health issues, including coping strategies and basic information about positive mental health. The task force recommended that this be introduced at an early stage as a natural part of children's health care curriculum. Nothing has been done to facilitate this. The task force asked that guidance counsellors be available to all schools and this has not happened.
The National Task Force on Suicide made 79 recommendations. Perhaps the Minister will outline to the House in his reply the number of recommendations which have been fully implemented in the 18 months since the report was published. Suicide is the most common cause of death among 15 to 24 year old males. The increase in youth suicides is particularly serious when measured against the "years of potential life lost" factor. The ratio of 421 males or 83.5 per cent to 83 females or 16.5 per cent in 1998 gives a gender ratio of 5.1 males to one female. These figures demonstrate that suicide in recent decades has been primarily a male phenomenon. There has also been a significant increase in the rate of suicides in older men aged 65 and over.
Suicide is a major social problem and is a potentially preventable form of mortality. However, no specific intervention has been found to be universally effective due to the lack of knowledge or consensus regarding the natural history of causation of suicide, the contributing factors most amenable to preventative effort and the most appropriate target of the population.
The task force acknowledged that preventative approaches must involve all sectors of society and a multiplicity of interrelated activities and responses, and suggested that it was on this basis that the possibility of solutions to the suicide problem would evolve. Preventing suicide means influencing in a corrective and constructive way the process of problem development and the individual's own resources at different phases of life. Suicide prevention includes a range of activities aimed at influencing the factors and events which may otherwise culminate in suicide.
The Minister, in conjunction with the health boards, should immediately introduce action plans which would include teaching individuals to manage their own lives while offering alternatives and support when needed; preventing the circumstances, factors and interactions which lead to problems; and preventing problems from worsening and becoming insurmountable.
The issue of creating awareness about suicide, suicide prevention and access to information and services should be available to all members of society and, particularly, to specific groups, especially those at risk. Each health board should create an awareness of issues relating to suicide and para-suicide by issuing a leaflet to every household in each health board region, which would include details of suicide and para-suicide, services, accountability and availability of a help line. The help line should be operated by the Samaritans. Public information points should be available, which should be easily accessible. The public information point should include a comprehensive range of information on health services availability.
An immediate campaign should be undertaken, which would include input from key organisations and personnel. A public poster display should be introduced by the Minister with visual images, which would include a help line number. Each health board should make the Samaritans's number available on a wallet size card at universities, schools, regional technical colleges, social welfare offices, post offices, community welfare offices and youth clubs.
