Rose Conway-Walsh
Published: 1 March, 2008
Speaking to Motion 169 and emergency Motion on Suicide Prevention.
Nearly 500 people die by Suicide each year and over 11,000 attempt suicide. In the 13 years since the set up of the National Task Force on Suicide, approximately 6,500 people have ended their own lives and 143,000 have attempted suicide. On average, each suicide, directly affects 6 people, therefore; we can conclude that this is a problem that affects almost one million people in our Country alone. This is a major Public Health Problem that must be tackled urgently.
'Reach Out' the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention and the 'Vision for Change' Report on Mental Health both detail what needs to be done to address the high level of Suicide and Poor Mental Health in this Country.
But we all know documents don't save lives. Frameworks are just that - 'frameworks'. Unless they are underpinned with sufficient resources they mean nothing. Yet, in this year's Finance Bill, the funding for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health has been drastically cut. The 25 million euro per annum deemed necessary to implement the recommendations in these strategies was cut to 4.5 million. This is all done while those responsible for finance allocation have given themselves whopping great pay rises. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Meanwhile, the lack of psychological services available in this country is deplorable. It is further compounded in rural areas where the lack of services and the stigma of mental health and suicidal behaviour is even greater. We have a limited number mental health professionals covering a large geographical area and trying to provide vital support and services to an impossible number of patients. How can one human being provide a quality service to several hundred patients? Is it any wonder that so many people suffering poor mental health are kept highly medicated with no chance of recovery? We must develop accessible, community-based mental health services that meet the needs of the people.
How many people even know what mental health services are available in their local area? 86% of people who die by suicide have not engaged with mental health services. There should be a statutory obligation on the HSE and other departments to work with the community and voluntary sector to address the information deficit, the gaps in provision and the stigma attached to poor mental health and suicide. Programmes like ASIST (Applied Suicide Prevention Skills Training) need to be made available to all communities so that we have a critical mass of people trained. I am calling for the immediate set up of a National 24 hour emergency helpline manned by professionals.
Most people who die by suicide do not want to die. They just want to stop the hurt. I am not here to give advice, but if you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts please tell someone how you are feeling, call your GP or ring the Samaritans. There are always more reasons to live than to die.
Tomorrow is Mothers Day; we remember and pray for all the mothers and families who have lost loved ones through Suicide. How many of those lives could have been saved if the right decisions were made to allocate resources to ensure the implementation of the strategies. Action on Suicide Prevention must be made a priority. Words and documents without action are meaningless. We are dealing with a Major Public Health Problem.
Please support motion no. 169 and emergency motion no.
Footnote
Rose Conway-Walsh is a Community Activist living in Belmullet, Co Mayo. For the past 10 years she has worked full time in Community Development in Mayo. She is a strong advocate of Human Rights including gender equality. She is founder of the recently formed Sinn Fein Mayo Women's Movement which provides a dynamic environment for republican women in Mayo to meet, discuss, explore, debate and take action on issues that were first documented in the 1916 Proclamation.
Rose was the Sinn Fein candidate in the 2004 Local Elections in the Belmullet/Achill constituency. Getting 924 first preference votes she secured 12.5% of the vote and just missed out on the fourth seat. She is currently finishing a 4 year degree in Public Management with the IPA.
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