More needs to be done to address suicide

A CLARE TD has said new studies looking at instances of young people taking their own lives “point to alarming increases when compared to the levels in the 1990s”.
Deputy Joe Carey made the comment pointing to a study by Professor Kevin Malone from UCD, who will address this issue when he speaks at the Merriman Summer School this Friday.
The survey showed that from 2003 to 2008, there was a 40% rise in the number of deaths by suicide in the 15 to 17 year age group, when compared to the period 1993 to 1998. The number of girls under 18 years of age taking their own lives has also doubled, while the level of ‘open verdicts’ reported by coroners had also risen hugely since the 1990s, perhaps pointing to an under reporting of the issue, he claimed.
“There isn’t a town or village in County Clare or Ireland, which hasn’t in some way been affected by suicide. It is a heartbreaking experience for any family to have a loved one die from suicide. These figures are very alarming, particularly in relation to young people. While they may be somewhat distorted by the fact Ireland has one of the largest under-18 populations in the EU, there is no getting away from the fact that suicide is a huge issue now in Irish society,” Deputy Carey commented.
“I would encourage any person with concerns to attend Prof Malone’s talk at the Merriman Summer School later this week and I want to commend the school for taking on this issue and highlighting it. For too long, suicide was not talked about and secrecy surrounded the subject,” he went on.
“One fact from the study which I found particularly worrying was that almost half of those under 18 who died by suicide had been exposed to the suicide of a loved one or a peer in the previous six months. We must do more as a society, in terms of our parental advice, in terms of how our schools deal with the issue and in terms of the co-ordination of our social services and counselling services in these cases in particular,” Deputy Carey continued.
“The bottom line from this study is that two children in Ireland are taking their lives through suicide every month. That is a shocking statistic with so much hurt and pain for the families, friends and communities who are left behind. We, as a Government and society, need to do a lot more to reduce that alarming rate. I feel we need to be looking at how other countries deal with the issue and use elements of their approach to combating suicide in a comprehensive coordinated way particularly in light of these new shocking suicide figures,” he concluded.
Deputy Carey’s Fine Gael colleague, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald was in North Clare on Wednesday, where she officially opened the 2011 Merriman Summer School. Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole delivered the opening lecture in Lisdoonvarna, on the overall theme of the school, Changing Irish Childhoods.
Directed by Professor Nóirin Hayes of Dublin Institute of Technology, an expert in child development, early childhood education and children’s rights, the school runs until Sunday and will feature a wide range of lectures, seminars and debates on the theme.
Other participants include academics, journalists, a psychiatrist, a children’s writer, a visual artist, a youth drama group and poets, including Eavan Boland, who will give a reading of her work this Thursday at midday.
Thursday morning’s seminars, one in Irish and one in English, deal with Irish language naoinraí and with the intriguingly titled Between Alexander Pope and Brian Merriman: Robert Buggin’s The Enchanted Garden (1716) and the Debutantes of Limerick.
Labour Presidential candidate, Michael D Higgins will deliver the closing address on Sunday morning. Walking tours of Lisdoonvarna and evenings of song and dance at Club Merriman complete the programme, which is open to all.
Full details of speakers and topics, as well as practical information about accommodation and fees, are available on www.merriman.ie.