There are many voluntary groups working hard in the area of suicide prevention but being voluntary organisations their strength depends on the quality and number of volunteers available in each location. As a result some parts of the country are better served than others.

Government policy and recommendations are in the hands of the Health Boards, there is no one Minister, Junior Minister or Department dealing directly with Suicide Prevention issues. As a result there is duplication of effort right around the country.
The Minister has told us that 4 Million Euro has been put into suicide prevention since 1998, when The National Task Force on Suicide issued its 84 recommendations. Most of this money has gone in research but little has gone to education, training or services for those most at risk of suicide. The Health Boards have produced many information booklets, as in the case of the MWHB, (The Health Lines Directory, You are not alone, A Student Dies a School Responds, The youth wise Guide) These publications have some valuable information but in most cases are ineffective because they are just publications with no structured organisation or policy to make them affective or get them to the people who could benefit from them most. Where they are effective they are driven by voluntary groups. A number of these publications have also been produced by other Health Boards with the same information, which is again duplication of effort and a waste of money and resources. 

The extent of the tragedy of suicide in Ireland is now obvious to all, it is now time to start investing in practical ways of preventing suicide. 

The Rosbrien Suicide Awareness Group is a group made up of families and community members bereaved by suicide. In our two years of existence we have studied all issue in relation to suicide. We have studied the National task Force on Suicide. We have met with many families bereaved by suicide. We brought experts on suicide issues to Limerick. We have met with and continue to meet other voluntary organisations dealing with suicide prevention and bereavement. We have met with Health board officials, politicians and carried out a media campaign to highlight the tragedy of suicide. 

We are presently involved in two major initiatives.

1.      The Limerick Support Services Network incorporating the following organisations,

2.      We have recently met with Mr. O’Malley, Junior Minister for Health and Children, and are part of a committee looking at the setting up of a Pilot Suicide Prevention (Psychotherapy/Counseling) Day Care Centre in Limerick. 

National Council on Suicide

We have acquired first hand knowledge of the existing services available, through our personal experiences and the many complaints we have received regard the inadequacies of the service. We have also extensively studied the National Task Force on Suicide Report 1998 and see its recommendations as a blue print as to what services should be provided The one problem we have with the Report is the most of the service recommended are Psychiatry driven. It is our experience that Psychiatry and medication should not be the prime treatment for those at risk of suicide. Like any other illness proper assessment should first done before diagnoses. We would see a major roll for Psychotherapist and counselors in the treatment of depression.
The implementation of the Task Force recommendations was left in the hands of our Health Boards and to date very few of the recommendations have been implemented. It is clear to us that the Health Boards have neither the will, nor the resources to implement the recommendations. The only way to tackle the growing tragedy of suicide in Ireland is for it to be nationally co-ordinated.

At Community Level

From our experience a high-risk category are the friends of suicide victims. There is evidence all over the country where communities have lost more then one person through suicide. Young people are severely affected by the loss of a friend through suicide and need to be helped to cope with their grief. The consequences of not doing this has been that many communities where there has been a death by suicide have experienced further deaths by suicide in their area.
Where there is a certain amount of counseling and support for the families we are not getting to the friends of suicide victims particularly the friends of young suicide victims. We need specially trained teams of counselors available to communities who have experienced a suicide.

More effective and accessible mental health servic es. 

We need to make the health services more accessible to the public, particularly to the young who may perceive them as not been readily available to address their needs at a time of crises.
The present psychiatric services have been found wanting in the treatment of people considered at risk of suicide. The over prescribing of medication has caused major problems for many people we have come in contact with.
For this reason we see the setting up of psychotherapy/counseling services at Day Care Centres as essential. We would hope that the proposed Pilot Day Care Centre will lead to a service that is more effective and accessible to the public, particularly the young.

Awareness

We also need to inform the public of the existing services available both voluntary and statutory. Very often people in crises and their families are at a loss as to what to do and could be greatly helped by some of the existing voluntary organisations. The setting up of the Limerick Support Services Network will help to improve an awareness of these services The recent initiative of The Paul Partnership on suicide prevention could be a further step in creating this awareness and improving suicide prevention and bereavement support services in Limerick.