Terence Flanagan
Ceist:189 Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to tackle the increase in youth suicides; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24454/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 16 May 2012
Ceisteanna (188)
Freagraí scríofa
Dealing with the current high levels of suicide and deliberate self harm is a priority for this Government. Reach Out our National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention recognises the youth sector as a high risk group and sets out a number of specific actions. Consequently, the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) has developed a range of initiatives aimed specifically at supporting young people who are suicidal and also supporting their peers in recognising and responding appropriately to signs of emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.
A wide range of awareness and training programmes are available in the area of mental health promotion and suicide prevention. These include safeTALK which trains participants to become more alert to the possibility of suicide in their community and other training programmes such as Reaching Out, ASIST, Taking Control, MindOut and STOP. A number of media awareness campaigns have been run in recent years including the “Let someone know” campaign which focused specifically on young people and delivered the message that it is important to reach out and seek the support of others. Other awareness programmes include the “The Please Talk” initiative, running in third level colleges since 2007, which encourages young people experiencing problems to talk to others and identifies the supports available to those in need.
Jigsaw, an innovative community-based support service for young people, has been developed by Headstrong and is designed to promote systems of care that are accessible, youth-friendly, integrated, and engaging for young people. Through additional Innovation Funding, this service is now available or in development in 11 sites around the country. A special allocation of €35m for mental health was announced in Budget 2012 in line with the Programme for Government commitments. Funding from this special allocation will be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both Adult and Children’s mental health services. Some of the funding will also be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems.