A MULTI-AGENCY forum is to assemble in Cork after a recent spike in deaths by suicide in the city.
A Candlelit vigil in memory of victims of suicide in the local community which was held at The Lough recently. Picture: Eddie O’Hare
Suicide has hit several Cork communities in recent months, with efforts underway to inform the city’s response to the crisis.
The rate of suicide in the city and county is almost twice the national average.
Members of An Garda Síochána, the HSE, charities and universities will take part in the forum, which will be chaired by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Des Cahill, on Monday, December 5.
Details will be given regarding the timeline for a new teenage mental wellbeing service, Jigsaw, which is due to open in Cork in January.
Organiser Councillor Mick Finn said that immediate action is needed. “We cannot continue to wait for central government to act; the human cost has been far too high in Cork for such a waiting game.”
Mental health advocate Conor Cusack called for a new 24-hour support service for those at risk of suicide in Cork.
He made an emotional appeal on 96FM’s Opinion Line yesterday, speaking after a number of deaths by suicide were recorded in just two weeks in Cork.
Mr Cusack said that there are insufficient supports available. “It is the most neglected aspect of the health services,” he said. “We have the highest rate of suicide per capita in the country in Cork. It is carnage.”
A multi-agency taskforce to investigate the ‘crisis levels’ of deaths by suicide in Cork will meet at City Hall on December 5th.
Organiser Cllr Mick Finn said ‘more preventative work needs to done.’ “I have written to both the Education and the Health Minister to that end, asking them to urgently provide resources.
“We need urgency from government on this issue.”
Helpline: HSE South 24/7 freephone suicide helpline: 1800 742 745
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