SEANAD:SEANAD LEADER Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) says gambling is now a major factor in suicide.
He believed it was a “major contributory factor”, particularly as a result of online gambling, and should be examined in the same manner that the link between alcohol and suicide was being investigated. “Many people, young and old, are accumulating large debts and this is something that should be investigated,” he said.
He also said there was a major problem of suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people, as shown by a recent Gay and Lesbian Equality Network survey.
He believed there was a need for an openness about the subject of suicide. “There is a real public momentum on this subject. As a society we need to tell every member that emotional and mental health issues are important.”
Denis Donovan (Fianna Fáil) said he knew many people who had taken their own lives. Many families, who were the victims of suicide, struggled with the stigma.
“We haven’t as a society got rid of the stigma. If we could all focus within our community on talking about people who are depressed and try to open up this whole notion of stigma, of shame in the family. Unless we can do that as a society, what money we pump into it will be no good.”
Senators spoke yesterday on the resumption of a debate about suicide prevention which was attended by the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Kathleen Lynch.
Mark Daly (Fianna Fáil) said there has been an upsurge in people taking their own lives this year, with five people dying by suicide on New Year’s Day alone.
“What is it in Ireland that causes people to die by their own hand? There is something endemically wrong in our society that so many young and old people take their own lives.”
Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) said 30- to 39-year-olds were now the most at-risk group as they were most likely to be unemployed or in negative equity.
