english

The Recession & Suicide in Ireland

Cllr. Jack Walsh, Cathoirleach of the Employment & Social Inclusion Subcommiteee

Dr. John Connolly & Mr. Declan Behan of the Irish Association of Suicidology (IAS) addressed a meeting of the Employment & Social Inclusion subcommittee of the Southern & Eastern Regional Assembly in Assembly House on Friday 8th April. The IAS was established in 1996 in response to rising suicide rates in Ireland.  The vision of the IAS is: “To be a leading independent advocate in Ireland on all aspects of suicide including intervention, prevention, and postvention in order to reduce and prevent suicide and self-harm and promote mental health awareness”
Mr. Behan told the meeting that death by suicide accounts for 2% of all deaths in Ireland. According to provisional figures from the CSO for 2009 there were 527 deaths. This is a rate of 11.7 per 100,000 of the population. This is an increase on the 9.2 per 100,000 established by a World Health Organisation (WHO) study conducted across European countries for 2008. Males continue to be the most at risk group particularly those in the 15-30years age group. However, since the onset of the recession an increase has been noted for males in the 50-60years age cohort. “Identifying the warning signs in others and looking after one’s own mental health” was stressed by Mr. Behan as he outlined the risk factors in general and amongst the most at risk groups i.e. youths and the elderly. Ideally he said “suicide prevention should be addressed at a national level by society and state agencies through a host of interventions”. This includes the creation of a just society, long term research in mental health, training of primary health care teams and combating poverty to name just a few” Mr. Behan commended the work of organisations such as Samaritans, Console, the GAA & the IFA.
Currently the IAS is working with the myriad of organisations in Ireland working in the area of suicide and prevention. Some are dedicated and some offer awareness programmes on the subject of suicide. IAS in tandem with these 500 organisations is working towards an accreditation process to standardise guidelines and develop strong governance within the organisations. The IAS has developed supports for researchers into the arena of suicide prevention and has received corporate funding to develop an annual award for new researchers for the next five years.
A number of key Government policies were highlighted with Mr. Behan noting that the 2005 Reach Out – National Strategy for action on Suicide in Ireland has received funding of €5 million to date and is in line to receive a further €5 million over the lifetime of the Government. However the Vision for Change- Mental Health Strategy which was launched in 2006 has not received the funding support envisaged at its launch. The members of the Employment & Social Inclusion committee called for a reinstatement of the budget awarded to the Vision for Change programme, to allow this critical work to be done.
In response to a question raised by Cllr. Christy Burke, Dublin City Council on the lack of support services available to bereaved families, Dr. Connolly said that services are available but often at times of crisis people are not aware or cannot access them readily. He pointed to the standardisation exercise that the IAS is currently engaged in which should strengthen the information available to the general public. He did agree that more services are required but that the public demand and the political will to provide these are critical.
Cllr. Jim Fegan, Meath Co. Co. raised a question as to whether it was possible to establish the numbers of deaths through suicide that were accidents in disguise.  Dr. Connolly acknowledged that it is difficult to establish but international studies show that 6% of car accidents involving single vehicle accidents which result in the death of the driver are as a result of suicide.  Cllr. Senan Griffin Kildare Co. Co. spoke about the risk of the “glamourisation” of suicide amongst young people; Dr. Connolly agreed with this sentiment and advised that this is addressed in the updated Schools Guidelines. In responding to Cllr. Pamela Kearns, South Dublin Co. Co., Dr. Connolly confirmed that the recession has a higher impact on people with psychiatric problems particularly those who are unskilled and consequently there is a higher rate of suicide amongst this cohort. Cllr. Anthony Connaghan, Dublin City Council spoke of the need to reassess the educational system and re-focus resources to developing and sustaining a broader range  of intelligences which will in turn enhance the life skills of people. Cllr. Jack Walsh, Waterford City Council, Cathaoirleach of the E&SI subcommittee commended the work of the IAS and pledged the support of the E&SI subcommittee for their work.


Press release ENDS

For details please contact
Derville Brennan
Southern & Eastern Regional Assembly
Assembly House,
O’Connell Street,
Waterford
dbrennan@seregassembly.ie
www.seregassembly.ie
T. + 353 51 860700
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M. +353 87 7793755