Second Opinion: Last week's survey on public attitudes to suicide reveals interesting data, some encouraging and some worrying. Not much has changed since the Irish Association of Suicidology, which commissioned the all-Ireland survey, was set up. And indeed, some of our efforts, particularly trying to reach out to young men, have not been very successful.
The Irish Association of Suicidology was established in 1996 just three years after suicide was decriminalised.
At that time it was still a taboo and stigmatised subject, surrounded by a wall of silence and an unwillingness to face escalating suicide rates in Ireland.
The stigma relating to suicide has changed in the past 10 years, yet 25 per cent of those surveyed said they would feel ashamed if a family member committed suicide.
The majority of people in the North and the Republic believe suicide is a symptom of mental illness. However, 38 per cent of people in the Republic disagree with the belief that it is symptomatic of mental illness.
Suicide has been over-medicalised in the past. While doctors have an important role, suicide is a societal problem with multifaceted determinants. Seven in 10 people regard alcohol as a major contributor to suicide, which it is, but can this understanding be translated into action to change our drinking culture?
Fifty per cent of people in the Republic (40 per cent in Northern Ireland) agree that suicide is more acceptable in Ireland these days. It is heartening that although most hold strong moral views about suicide and believe that people should be prevented from taking their lives at all costs, there remains sensitivity and understanding to reasons why people might want to end their lives.
Surprisingly, 48 per cent in the Republic and 45 per cent in the North believe people with terminal illnesses should be allowed to end their lives by suicide and die with dignity.
We were anxious to discover what percentage of the population continues to believe the myths around suicide, which can be real barriers to suicide prevention . The negative attitudes caused by these myths may be an obstacle to seeking help for those in a suicidal crisis.
Just over a third believe that "once a person has decided to commit suicide nothing can stop them". Research shows that the majority of people who end their lives by suicide are ambivalent to the end.
Suicide is more about ending pain (psychache) rather than dying. Forty per cent believe that "people who make a number of suicide attempts seldom end up killing themselves". Again research shows that the single most important predictor of an eventual suicide is a history of previous attempts. The greater the number of suicide attempts, particularly medically serious attempts, the greater the risk.
It is notable that, in the Republic, more women than men believe nothing can prevent the suicide once it is decided upon.
The reasons people gave for high rates of suicide include men's reluctance to talk about their feelings and problems and their reluctance to seek help. A major concern is that 40 per cent of Irish men between 15 and 24 (33 per cent in the North) were not aware of any support services for suicidal people. And 25 per cent of the general population were not aware of support services either.
Tragically, up to 74 per cent of people in the Republic know someone who has committed suicide and, of these, 4 per cent had a friend who committed suicide. Fifteen per cent (12 per cent in the North) had a family member who had committed suicide.
The survey reveals that Irish people have a good knowledge of suicide. Opinions on many issues such as the morality of suicide and the right to die are polarised.
The majority of people surveyed had definite opinions on most issues and the number of "don't knows" was very small. The public have a caring attitude about the plight of suicidal people.
We can only speculate on what attitudes might have been in the early 1990s. At least now the wall of silence has been breached and stigma reduced. Much remains to be done. There are still too many people who hold with the myths about suicide.
Our efforts to date do not seem to have reached young men - the group in Ireland most at risk of suicide. Service provision, particularly for this group, is inadequate and not user friendly.
Innovative approaches in education and counselling tailored to the need of those most at risk of suicide are needed.
Further work in analysing the data is being undertaken by Dr Anne Cleary, department of sociology, UCD.
The majority of those surveyed believe not enough is being done to prevent suicide. The task now is to harness goodwill and understanding into public action on suicide prevention and to ensure that it becomes a major issue on the political agenda.
We all have a role in influencing our public representatives to this end. Suicide has touched everyone on this island and suicide prevention is everybody's business.
• John Connolly is a consultant psychiatrist and is secretary of the Irish Association of Suicidology.