TEN TIMES more money is spent on road safety measures than on suicide prevention despite the fact that more people kill themselves than die on the roads.
That is one of the findings of a report launched by the Oireachtas Committee on Health yesterday aimed at monitoring progress in tackling suicide.
It also found that just seven out of 33 recommendations from a major suicide prevention document published three years ago have progressed to a reasonable level.
In a detailed analysis of investment in the area, the study found a dramatic contrast in the investment in road safety and suicide prevention. A total of €105 million will be invested in road safety measures in 2007-2012.
In contrast, just €11 million will be set aside for the national strategy on tackling suicide between 2005 and 2009.
Overall, some 460 people died by suicide in Ireland in 2007, up almost 50 on the previous year. While the overall suicide rate in Ireland is relatively low in European terms, we have one of the highest youth suicide rates in the EU.
The report, The High Level of Suicide in Irish Society, was commissioned by an Oireachtas sub-committee on the issue, chaired by Fine Gael TD Dan Neville.
“This report again outlines that not enough resources and expertise have been harnessed to introduce the essential programmes to deal with this serious public health issue,” he said.
He said mental health problems were closely related to suicidal behaviour. Yet, the proportion of health funding which goes on mental health has fallen from 23 per cent in 1966 to 12 per cent in 1984 and just 6.7 per cent this year.
Mr Neville said it had to be asked whether deaths by suicide were of lesser value to the State and to society at large.
“Is the pain of a family bereaved by suicide less than that of a family bereaved by a road traffic fatality or the economic loss of this person to society?” he said.
The 2006 study called for a range of actions, including the recruitment of suicide prevention officers, the development of suicide prevention training programmes for teachers, gardaí and other care staff and the co-ordination of support agencies. It also called for more support to be provided to marginalised groups in society.
One of the recommendations, for example, was to set up an evidence-based health programme for all transition year students in a pilot to combat deliberate self-harm at a cost of €100,000.
The report noted that it was “frustrating to see that such clear and easily implementable recommendations have not been progressed,” noting that health authorities had opted to form another committee to examine the issue.
Seán O’Fearghail, the Oireachtas health committee chairman, said the findings were disappointing.
“In order to address this ongoing crisis, a sustained, co-ordinated and properly resourced response is needed. Evidence from the progress made in road safety shows that when these aspects are present, significant results can be achieved,” he said.
The report also shows that four times more men take their own life here than in the UK, with men aged less than 35 accounting for 40 per cent of all suicides.
The report was compiled in consultation with Dr Siobhán Barry, clinical director of Cluain Mhuire.
Reacting to the report yesterday, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen) welcomed the research and said more investment is needed.
“Increasingly, the mental health challenges facing LGBT people in Ireland are being acknowledged publicly, and we welcome the visibility given by the Joint Committee to LGBT mental health issues,” said Odhran Allen, Glen’s director of mental health strategy.
Michael Barron, director of BeLonG To, a national services for gay and trangender young people, said a significant minority of young LGBT people were at risk of self-harm and suicide, largely because of the stress associated with prejudice and discrimination. “The Oireachtas committee report clearly recognises the risks for LGBT people and for people from marginalised groups,” he said.
