Suicide figures make for sobering reading

As candidates for the 31st Dail begin their campaigns in earnest following the formal calling of the general election this week, the key issues on the campaign will be jobs, the economy, dealing with the banks and renegotiating the EU/IMF interest rate on Ireland's €85bn debt, all of which are priority issues for voters. While the emphasis will centre on these crucial issues nationally, undoubtedly a myriad of local problems will also crop up on the doorstep for election candidates to state their respective positions on. In areas outside the main urban centres, one of the key issues will be sound policies for the future of rural Ireland, which has suffered the brunt of the economic slump with record numbers of job losses and thousands of young people emigrating because they see no hope for them in the country. The frightening rise in rural suicides in the past few years has been symptomatic of the dismantling of rural societies by the ravaging effects of the recession. It is one of the most serious problems we face as a society in this country, with one county coroner last week describing the numbers of people taking their own lives as 'rampant' in his area of the midlands. People living in rural areas are acutely aware of the problems associated with unemployment, low incomes and isolation and need candidates to listen to their concerns and needs as they have had both their incomes and hopes disproportionately hit by the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. The gradual erosion of a traditional rural way of life has left thousands throughout the land isolated and vulnerable. Human contact in the countryside is now less than it once was and in some areas that true sense of community which rural parishes prided themselves upon is no more, or certainly diminished to a great extent. This is especially true for older people, exacerbating issues they may already have with their own mental health. Further evidence that this is not just a problem which is afflicting the young has come from the Meath-based Senior Help Line which reported this week disturbing new figures of increasing numbers of older people taking their own lives, with loneliness and isolation often underlying factors, but also the closing down of local social amenities, retirement or redundancy. The Central Statistics Office this week also issued new statistics on death by suicide. These latest figures show that there were 527 deaths by suicide in 2009. This figure rose from 424 in 2008. However, there was also an additional 195 undetermined deaths in 2009, rising from 119 in the previous year. Clearly, everyone must be very concerned about the rise in deaths by suicide, particularly as we are living in a very difficult economic climate that has clearly put enormous pressure on everyone. And the stark reality of death by suicide has been revealed in the latest Central Statistics Office figures which showed that there were 12.8 deaths per 100,000 population in Meath last year. According to the community-based Grow service, the fragmented nature of mental health resources needs to be addressed urgently to combat suicide as there is no single point of contact for people who feel they may need help. There is also a need to improve the skills of young people in dealing with emotional or other problems that will leave them better equipped to deal with difficult times in their lives. Death by suicide remains the leading cause of deaths in young males, in particular, exceeding both road accidents and cancer. As a society, we need a greater understanding of suicide in modern Ireland and how to prevent it, and a lead in this task must come from government. As one of the leading causes of deaths in this country after heart disease and cancers, suicide is something that has touched every parish in County Meath, and the incoming government will need to devise a strategy, working with professionals in the area of mental health, to combat this major societal problem that has ravaged the countryside in recent years.