In the past there was an understandable reluctance to discuss the issue of suicide and this made the compilation of accurate data more difficult. This is now changing. The need for reliable and concrete information was one of the key factors in the establishment of the National Task Force on Suicide in 1995. The task force comprised 15 individuals from a range of backgrounds, including the coroner services, the Garda Síochána, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, public health and voluntary organisations. The terms of reference of the task force were to define numerically and qualitatively the nature of the suicide problem in Ireland, to define and quantify the problems of attempted suicide in Ireland, to make recommendations on how service providers can most cost effectively address the problems of attempted suicide and parasuicide, to identify the various authorities with jurisdiction in suicide prevention strategies and their respective responsibilities and to formulate, following consultation with all interested parties, a national suicide prevention/reduction strategy.

The task force carried out a detailed examination of the incidence of suicide and attempted suicide in Ireland. The task force report, published in January 1998, outlined a comprehensive strategy to reduce the incidence of suicide and attempted suicide. The key components of the overall strategy recommended by the task force are the implementation of measures aimed at high risk groups, provision of information and training on suicide prevention to relevant professionals and organisations and the importance of research and suicide prevention programmes. Following the publication of the task force report, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Cowen, contacted his ministerial colleagues in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Education and Science and the Department of the Environment and Local Government requesting that the necessary measures be put in place to ensure implementation of the recommendations which relate to their respective areas.

I will outline to the House the progress which has been made in implementing the recommendations of the task force that relate to the health services. Arising from the high incidence of suicide among young males and males over 65 years of age, priority has been given to the further development of mental health services for older people and child and adolescent psychiatric services. Resources totalling approximately £2.5 million were made available by my Department this year to enable improvements to be carried in each of these services. It is intended to allocate additional resources to enable these services to be further developed over the next few years. It is also intended to increase the level of capital funding available for the development of mental health facilities in the community to make services more accessible to people.

The Department also provided funding this year for the appointment of an additional consultant forensic psychiatrist in the Eastern Health Board. The person appointed to this post will liaise with the director of prison medical services and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The sessional commitments for the post will be five sessions at the Central Mental Hospital, three sessions in the prison service, Mountjoy Prison initially, and two sessions for risk assessment evaluations in the general psychiatric services. The post was advertised in July and the results of the selection process should be known by the end of this month. It is the intention of my Department to facilitate the Eastern Health Board in the further enhancement of its consultant forensic psychiatric services as resources permit.

A suicide research/review group has been established by the chief executive officers of the health boards. The establishment of this is central to the strategy to prevent and reduce suicide and attempted suicide and was a core recommendation of the task force report. Membership of the group includes experts in the areas of mental health, public health and research. The main responsibilities of the suicide research group are to review ongoing trends in suicide and parasuicide, to co-ordinate research into suicide and to make appropriate recommendations to the chief executive officers of health boards. To date, the group's research/review has covered a range of data, including current Central Statistics Office figures, the latest research material available, the new Garda report forms, Form 104, to the Central Statistics Office and the work of the newly established suicide committees and co-ordinators resource persons appointed in each health board area.

At an early stage in its deliberations the group recognised the need for research-resource support to assist it in carrying out the tasks covered by the report of the national task force on suicide. A sum of £5,000 has been provided by my Department this year for this purpose.

The research-resource officer will be involved in the collation of all existing research material, both national and international, and in making it available to the committee. He will also examine the effectiveness of intervention programmes and will liaise with local co-ordinators in each of the health boards on action plans based on experience both here and abroad.

The majority of health boards have established working groups to examine the implementation of the recommendations. The working groups are multisectoral and multidisciplinary and engage in the promotion of positive mental health and the destigmatisation of suicide, provide information in relation to suicide and parasuicide, liaise with the media and provide training requirements for staff in relation to all aspects of suicide and parasuicide. Resource officers with responsibility for implementing recommendations of the task force have been appointed in all health boards.

The National Suicide Research Foundation was founded in January 1995 by the late Dr. Michael J. Kelleher. Initially funded by the Department of Health and Children, the Southern Health Board and the Mid-Western Health Board, it became a unit of the Health Research Board in 1997. The foundation comprises a research team drawn from a broad range of disciplines. Personnel includes a project co-ordinator, research psychiatrist, statistician, research psychologist, research sociologist and data administrator. The primary aims of the NSRF are to define the true extent of the problem of suicidal behaviour in Ireland, to identify and measure the factors which induce and protect against suicidal behaviour and to develop strategies for the prevention of suicidal behaviour. The bulk of the foundation's work involves the monitoring of parasuicide as one of 26 centres across Europe that form part of the WHO-EURO multicentre study of parasuicide.

Parasuicide consists of any non-fatal act initiated deliberately by an individual in the knowledge that it may cause harm or death and includes both failed suicide attempts as well as acts where the individual has no intention to die. International studies have found parasuicide to be one of the most significant risk factors associated with suicide. Those who engage in parasuicide are 20 times more likely eventually to kill themselves. Studies have shown that at least one third of all suicides have a history of parasuicide.

The foundation has monitored every hospital-treated episode of parasuicide in the Southern Health Board and Mid-Western Health Board since 1995. Indepth interviews of individuals who have engaged in parasuicide have been carried out and these interviews are also being conducted in the community. This assists the foundation to identify risk and resilience factors relating to parasuicide. The NSRF has recently put forward a proposal for the national monitoring of suicide. Having national information on one of the groups at highest risk of suicide would contribute hugely to Ireland's suicide prevention strategy. It certainly appears appropriate that such research should be conducted and the proposal from the NSRF is currently under consideration by the suicide research group established by the CEOs of the health boards.

I assure Senators that the Government shares the public concern about the increase in suicides in this country. It is a worrying trend and we are fully committed to implementing the suicide prevention strategy recommended by the national task force and to developing other measures to help people who are at risk.

Mrs. Jackman: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, to the House. It is sad, as we approach Christmas, that it was necessary, as a result of recent deaths in Dublin prisons, to seek a debate on the question of young people committing suicide. I wonder if the young people who have just left the Public Gallery will remember their visit to the Seanad as the day when they heard a debate on a topic which should be very far from their young minds.

During my previous period in this House my colleague, Senator Dan Neville, did trojan work in bringing the issue of suicide before the public. He persisted and it is as a result of his work that we are debating this matter today. As president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, he constantly monitors and evaluates what is being done. This morning we held a very optimistic debate on the national development plan, but everything in our society is not right. We must place greater emphasis on people and on the need to support them.

As a teacher, I followed the careers of the young girls I had taught and wondered if intervention in the education system might have reached out to them and prevented future difficulties. Young boys are at a greater risk of suicide than girls. The Minister of State referred to the need for interventions within education. This is not a subject one would like to have to discuss with a class of bright young teenagers, but the issue must be touched on. The statistics quoted by the Minister - 421 males and 83 females, which is a 14% increase on the previous year, are shocking. In the past we thought that socio-economic pressures drove people to suicide, but this is not necessarily so. We never lived in such economically buoyant times as we do now and still the figures are going up. We must provide the resources necessary to ensure that health boards, the Department and the task force can detect people at risk of suicide and make the necessary intervention.

I do not forget prisons. I listened to a radio discussion the other day in which Dr. Charles Smith of the Central Mental Hospital appeared to differ with Dr. Ronan Ryder with regard to counselling of prisoners. Charles Smith seemed to think one would know the people who were suffering from mental illness and could deal with them appropriately. Research is needed for those not in that category.

The figure for youth suicide -120 per annum - is shocking. These suicides are predominantly male and suicide is now the greatest killer of young men. Some say that young men are not as ready as young women to accept the changes in society. Others feel that problems arise from the changing role of young males in society. When Finola Bruton referred to the fact that young men were a group at risk in our society she was attacked because of her concentration on that issue.

She was absolutely right in terms of equality. Sometimes we look at equality from the female perspective only but there must also be equality from the male perspective. She spoke about this because she knew that cohort was at risk. I am sure there are some in that socio-economic grouping who, while not suicidal, feel alienated and not in charge of their lives.

The statistics for the Limerick area are very sad. We have all, as politicians, attended funerals of suicide victims, which are most harrowing. What can one say to the parents, siblings and friends? The young people all go to those funerals and are shattered and shocked. They might have been out the night before with the individual and had hands-on contact with them. The individual boy - it is mostly boys - would not have been a recluse but would have been someone with whom they had been in contact the day before. They are shocked and horrified by these incidents. I was at a number of funerals in the Limerick area where I saw at first hand the devastation of family life. However, life goes on and the community looks after the young people and the parents, which is a good aspect of Irish life, and helps them to come to grips with such enormous tragedy, not just for the period of the funeral and the following weeks. There should, of course, be other interventions outside the normal neighbourly kindness and support, which is very helpful.

According to a Dáil reply to a question on the up-to-date statistics for Limerick, 12 males and five females, a total of 17, committed suicide in 1997. Those figures increased to 19 males and three females, a total of 22. It is quite frightening to see that 39 children in the ten to 19 age group - an age when the world is their oyster - committed suicide in 1996 and 53 did so in 1998, which is a huge increase. In 1998 there were 100 suicides in the 30 to 39 year old age group. There is also an increased incidence of suicide among older people due to loneliness or whatever. In the 50 to 64 year old age group - a time when people should be enjoying the hard earned fruits of their work - the figure increased from 58 to 73 in 1998. Between 1996 and 1998 the figure increased from 409 to 504 suicides, an increase of almost 100. That is absolutely shocking. According to the Central Statistics Office, the incidence has increased in the Mid-Western Health Board region from 13.1 to 14 per 100,000 of the population.

Young people are exposed to social and psychological pressures, one aspect of which is the instability of family life. I am sure that is a reason for suicide in every country. Questions must be asked as to why so many young people are suffering from depression and feel so utterly despairing. That area must be researched.

Suicide has an effect not only on the parents but on the entire family unit. Health boards need to have a multidisciplinary team available, as requested, to assist both the family and the community which has been bereaved by a member who felt in such despair that he or she decided to take his or her life.

I could spend a lot of time talking about the supports necessary for the bereaved. That should be taken on board. Life goes on but the needs of the family must be addressed. It should not be the case that nothing is done after a prison suicide or otherwise hits the headlines. I was glad, in a sense, to hear women being interviewed about their sons the other day. However, why is it always women who have to come to the fore? This also hurts fathers. Perhaps it would be good if the fathers could talk about these issues, especially when the incidence of suicide is so high among the male population. The Minister referred to the report of the national task force on suicide which was published in 1998. I referred to the community multidisciplinary psychiatric services and training. Input is also needed for teachers.

When I refer to teachers, I am also talking about teachers at third level. Many students at third level institutions are removed from the support structures of home and may feel further alienated. The chaplain in the University of Limerick is a wonderful young priest who has brought this into the open. Every year he celebrates special masses and provides special supports. He gets such a large congregation of young people at mass on Sunday night that one cannot get into the church. That shows what can happen when someone addresses this issue in a third level institution, where people can feel alienated, and provides a support structure. Students can turn to the church, which is often lambasted. This particular clergyman is invaluable to the University of Limerick in terms of the support he provides.

There is controversy about initiating programmes aimed at teaching children about positive health issues, including coping strategies and basic information about positive mental health. We had those programmes in our school in Limerick. It was very important to have that discussion.

There is also controversy about how the press reports individual suicides. There should be dialogue between the Department of Health and Children and the press - perhaps there already is - to ensure positive reporting. Some parents have said to me that the constant reporting of suicide in the press encourages young people to do the same. Has that area been researched?

The Department of Health and Children should also address the psychological needs of older people. That must be met headlong. I have given statistics on the increased incidence of suicide among older people. Is it the view that adults are supposed to just get on with their lives? Older people can be isolated and it is essential that they receive counselling and social intervention. The elderly were mentioned during the debate on the national development plan. I was shocked by the statistic that 200,000 people - I could be corrected on that statistic - will spend Christmas alone this year, prior to the new millennium about which everyone is talking so enthusiastically. That level of isolation is shocking. There should be community intervention in that regard and people should look in on their elderly neighbours. I can imagine how one would feel if one were alone. Most of those people were on their own the year after the death of their spouse. That is a shocking indictment of Irish life. We must look out for these things. Perhaps we are moving into a very fast society which is consumer oriented and we are forgetting we are supposed to help each other. These matters should be considered.

I look forward to a debate on this issue when we are not just reacting to the increased incidence of suicide. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, of which I am a member, should debate this on a regular basis rather than just responding when we hear of another death.

We must deal with this as politicians on an ongoing basis to ensure that no section of society lacks the much needed interventions to help them to cope and to avoid the harrowing choice of taking one's life which really saddens all of us.

Dr. Fitzpatrick: I welcome this debate and the Minister's presence. Listening to the contributions, I cannot help but think that irony is piling upon irony. This is probably the best and most hopeful time to be alive in Ireland's history, yet the incidence of suicide is rising exponentially with a 25% increase in two years from 1996 to 1998. There is roughly a four to one male to female ratio. A total of 504 suicides took place in 1998. It is especially prevalent in young men, who belong to the age group who have most to look forward to in life, who have everything before them, yet appear to turn their backs on life and on society.

The interesting thing I find as a doctor is that there is absolutely no means of predicting who will commit suicide. I have been shocked time and again by the patients of mine who have committed suicide, people who had no reason to do it, who were happily married, in good homes and with everything going well. They just do it. Of course great personal shock and trauma is caused to those they leave behind. When I was preparing for this debate, I read somewhere that approximately ten people are affected by every suicide. I am sure it is much more. These people are devastated. A father and mother see their child commit suicide. The parents and siblings ask if there was something they missed in the person who commited suicide. They are still unable to come up with answers.

I welcome the Minister's speech and his proposals to deal with suicide in Irish society. It is amazing that more people take their own lives than are killed on the roads. Yet another irony is that approaching Christmas an anti-drink driving and anti-dangerous driving campaign will be mounted which will last throughout the festive season, as it does every year, and then stop. It does not really appear to have much effect on the incidence of road traffic deaths year after year. Why do we not take this approach to suicide, which takes our best and, in many cases, our brightest?

I take the point made by Senator Mary Jackman that we are beginning to discuss this topic but there is or was a stigma in society attaching to suicide. I am old enough to remember a neighbour of mine being taken from the hospital to the graveyard without any church service. That was in my lifetime. It has changed a lot but we need to discuss it more openly. We need to stop hiding the problem.

The point is made that if there was more media coverage of suicide it might encourage more people to take their own lives. I do not think so. It should be exposed more and its causes examined. This is not a medical problem and we should not even dream of medicalising it. It is a societal problem and should be tackled by a broad range of interests and skills.

I am glad the NSRF is trying to define the true extent of the problem of suicidal behaviour in Ireland. They have demolished one of the prevalent myths, especially in the medical profession over the years, that people who attempt suicide never really go on to commit suicide. The Minister's speech indicated that parasuicidal people, that is people who attempt it, are 20% more at risk than people who do not. That is an interesting and frightening statistic. It should always put people like myself, nurses and anybody who deals with the care of people, on their guard against this.

Why do people commit suicide? There are probably as many answers as there are suicides. One answer is the rate of change in our society which has never been faster. The old certainties with which I was brought up, certainly those of a patriarchal and hierarchical society, are gone forever. Children leaving school now are expected to be educated adults, able to handle everything society throws at them. Not all people are like that. Even as we get older we find it difficult to handle some of the changes in society.

I do not want to blame schools for this or put the onus on them because schools have to do a lot that they are not really equipped to do or should not be doing. Children should be educated outside the narrow confines of the leaving certificate instead of being told, "You must get six As if you want to get into medical school" or whatever. One never needed those things to be a normal member of society. Maybe we should be training them in more societal skills and boosting their self-esteem or self-confidence. We do not do that. We are becoming a society in one way that puts people down, that focuses on the personality. Take our profession - since when did the media and ourselves discuss policy without personalising that policy or the person behind the policy? This is wrong. Older people or middle aged people like myself can live with this but young people cannot. Not all of them can take these pressures and this is one of the reasons for the high suicide incidence in the 15 to 24 age group.

I said before that reducing suicide is not simply a matter for psychiatrists or general practitioners. There are wider social and cultural issues which must also be examined. We must look to other countries. We do not have the highest suicide rate as Finland does but they have mounted a multi-disciplinary approach to dealing with the causes of suicide. It is a slow process and they are finding it extremely difficult to get to grips with it but they are attempting anyway. We are beginning the attempt. They have progressed further that we have. They are examining what motivates suicidal behaviour such as lack of confidence or being unprepared for independent living. Young men rather then young women are not well prepared for independent living. They seem to need the home background in their lives longer than young women.

It will be interesting to see over the next few years whether the Celtic tiger and the resulting decrease in unemployment will lead to a reduction in suicide statistics. We will not know that for four or five years. One of the theories advanced for the increase in suicide in Ireland was the lack of work and the feeling of inadequacy people had because they were not working. Because they were signing on, they felt they were not making a contribution to their family or their society. We will know within the next four or five years whether being out of work and not making a meaningful contribution leads to an increase in suicide.

As for primary care - psychiatric and psychological services have to be made more accessible. They are not at the moment, although there is an improvement coming. Those who are dealing with suicide should be well trained, highly skilled and non-judgmental. We do not have enough of them and we need more. We have spent a fortune seeking to reduce the number of road traffic accidents but we have not spent the same amount seeking to reduce the incidence of suicide.

There are wider issues which militate against individuals seeking help. To remove the stigma there is a need for an ongoing debate on mental health to educate the public, not just doctors, on the causes of suicide. When the matter is discussed openly those suffering from depression or who feel inadequate will realise that they are not unusual and will seek help. Greater publicity can play a part in reducing the incidence of suicide.

Many of the barriers to suicidal or parasuicidal behaviour have been removed in recent years. What this means is that some individuals are more likely to engage in such behaviour when they feel distressed. This generation is not prepared or able to withstand pressures withstood by a previous generation.

I hope we will revisit this matter, which we could debate all day, because it is a major problem in society.

Dr. Henry: In case a crowd gathers on the other side of the House I wish to share my time with Senator Norris.

An Cathaoirleach: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Dr. Henry: I sometimes think that statements from the Department of Health and Children are specifically written to increase my sense of paranoia but that cannot be said of the speech delivered by the Minister of State. I agree with virtually all of it, apart from the usual phrase, "Services will be increased as resources permit". We spent this morning describing ourselves as billionaires and working out how we will spend all the money available. The resources are available and there should no longer be any need to include that excuse.

I compliment Senators Jackman and Fitzpatrick on covering much of this topic so eloquently. I will try to avoid dealing with the same points. What they had to say was very important and relevant. This is a serious public health issue which appears to be confined to the rich, developed world. There has been an appalling increase in the incidence of suicide in the western world, particularly among young males and older persons. As well as looking at the good work being done by the national task force on suicide we should also look at the work being done internationally, in particular by the task force established by the Surgeon General in the United States of America. Under the chairmanship of Mrs. Gore, it has done considerable work not just on suicide risk but also on the protection that can be provided at community level.

It is important not to develop a collective attitude of despair to the problem. This would not be helpful. I indicated the other day that sometimes, for unknown reasons, problems which appear to be increasing regress. For example, in the early 1990s there was a dramatic increase in teenage pregnancies but between 1997 and 1998 the Eastern Health Board reported a 30% decrease which was not attributable to an increase in the number in that age group who travel to England for an abortion. It was most likely due to an improvement in the economy. All the issues involved must be looked at to ascertain the risk factors involved and the protection that can be provided at community level to prevent individuals feeling that suicide is the answer to their problems.

Senator Fitzpatrick indicated that there is a lack of access to services which may be in a position to help, such as psychological counselling and psychiatric services. This must be tackled as a matter of urgency. Voluntary organisations, such as the Samaritans, which were rightly praised by Senator Jackman are often stretched beyond their capacity. Those suffering from substance and alcohol abuse in particular find it difficult to obtain help. It is outrageous that there is perhaps a six month's waiting list for those who wish to take part in a methadone treatment programme. Substance and alcohol abuse are high risk factors when it comes to suicide.

Mental health and depression in particular were mentioned by the Minister of State and Senator Fitzpatrick. I attended a meeting in Geneva recently at which it was indicated that the World Health Organisation expects depression to be the most common illness in the western world within a short space of time. This is unbelievable. What is worse is that there is a lack of access to treatment. At primary level general practitioners should have sufficient time for consultations with patients. Senator Fitzpatrick said that he was sometimes astounded at the patients of his who committed suicide. A high proportion of those who commit suicide come in contact with their general practitioner a short time before they take their lives. It is important, therefore, that general practitioners have sufficient time to be able to realise that a patient who appears to be suffering from a somatic problem is in fact suffering from a mental illness. Senator Fitzpatrick is correct that there is still a stigma attached to mental illness to which we must adopt a better attitude to ensure those suffering from depression carefully explain their symptoms and seek help.

Another group which has not been discussed is the homeless. Are they homeless because they are suffering from a psychiatric illness or is it because of the breakdown of relationships within the homes from which they came? I have frequently mentioned that I live near Baggot Street Hospital in which a drug treatment centre is located. The number of homeless people that I trip over on my way home, in particular boys under the age of 18 for whom no hostel accommodation is available, is horrific. How important is this to those who feel, quite rightly, that they are in despair and perhaps take their own lives?

I was delighted to hear from the Minister's speech that the incidence of parasuicide is being investigated, but I am inclined to doubt this because accident and emergency departments are stretched beyond belief and I wonder are all those who go in really dealt with as carefully as they should be? Are some of them referred back to a general practitioner or to a psychiatrist? I would like to think that parasuicide is followed up as carefully as the Minister says, but I am inclined to think it is not.

Another issue which has been tackled only recently - I compliment Mona O'Moore in Trinity College for addressing it over the past 20 years - is the issue of bullying in society. Jacinta Kitt has undertaken a study of bullying in the workplace and has done a considerable amount of research into its effects on people who commit suicide. Scandinavian research suggests that between 10% and 20% of people who commit suicide have been subject to bullying of a serious nature within the previous year, bullying in the workplace being quite common. This has not been addressed until very recently and I am delighted Mrs. Kitt has taken it upon herself to address trade unions and other institutions about this problem.

Senator Fitzpatrick was quite right when he said that we seem to have a national problem in terms of praising people. It is sometimes felt that it is far better to denigrate people. We never seem to go by that great old proverb "Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí". People feel it is better to try to put people down. I wonder how frequently this is the case with those who are bullied. Relationship bullying is a feature, for example, within a family one person may be the victim and within society a whole family can be bullied, isolated and indeed boycotted within a community. How much resources are we putting forward into developing family and community relationships? We are doing very little to help in this regard.

I have expressed great annoyance about the proposals to reduce the numbers of people working on community employment schemes. Some of these are people from within the community working as assistants in schools and so forth. Perhaps these are some of the best people to recognise where there is a breakdown within a family because they come from the community and they recognise where a family within that community has problems. This should be promoted rather than withdrawing very small amounts of money which will be of little benefit in terms of the national plan. A more co-ordinated approach is necessary, not only by the Department of Health and Children. We should look more carefully at what is happening in other Departments in dealing with this matter.

Prison suicides must be mentioned because we all have responsibility for that since it is because of society that these people are in prison. A large number of us would consider that many people in prison would be far better off if they were dealt with by the probation service. There are just over 200 probation officers who are expected to deal with all situations. Instead of building more prisons, there should be a significant increase in the number of probation officers.

Mr. Norris: Hear, hear.

Dr. Henry: If people commit suicide within prisons there is a definite responsibility on those who have encouraged the increased imprisonment of people. The last young man who committed suicide was in prison for three months for stealing a £40 coat. What is the value of a three month prison sentence? I do not know and from what I read, it appears to be very little.

Senator Jackman referred to Dr. Ronan Ryder. As he and numerous people have said for years, there is a lack of psychiatric services in prisons, which is appalling. It is not sufficient to employ one more forensic psychiatrist? The resources are there and there needs to be a considerable increase in psychiatric services. It has been suggested that 30% of the prison population have psychiatric disease and 10% have serious psychiatric disease. The number of people who are in seclusion and padded cells in Mountjoy Prison because the authorities have not been able to send them to the Central Mental Hospital is appalling.

I wonder whether in my lifetime whether the Government will provide time to debate the report of the inspector of mental hospitals. I doubt it very much, even though I have raised the matter for the past two years.

Mr. Costello: It is promised.

Dr. Henry: It is promised like the millennium. The section on the Central Mental Hospital in this report is very bad. The whole area is totally demoralised and money needs to be spent there.

School services also need to be addressed. There is a dire shortage of school psychologists and psychiatrists and it is quite appalling to hear of school children committing suicide, and frequently, as stressed in the Minister's speech, there are problems at family level.

The elderly must not be forgotten in terms of loneliness and lack of money. Thankfully, there will be a large amount of money in the budget for the elderly. We must ensure there is better counselling for the elderly who have been recently bereaved because, all too often following a death, within a short length of time the person left behind feels that life is intolerable and not worth living, and they take their lives.