ONE PERSON attempted to take his or her life or inflict self-harm every nine minutes in Ireland, Denis Naughten(FG) told the Dáil.

“It is far greater than the statistics for road traffic accidents yet it is being brushed under the carpet every day.’’

Mr Naughten said that when researching the issue he found 60,000 people had attempted to take their lives every year.

“I did not believe the figure, and I had to double check it.’’

Resuming the debate on suicide, Mr Naughten said the economics of two mental health issues should be looked at.

About €3 billion annually was being lost to Irish business due to bullying, while another €1 billion was lost because of suicide.

“These two issues cost about €4 billion annually, not to mind the impact on people who try to commit suicide or self-harm,’’ he said.

“This is roughly the amount of money that the Government will have to save for the budget in 2012.’’

From a purely economic perspective, it made sense to put further resources into mental health issues, as well as bringing about a change of attitude.

He said there was a need to talk openly about mental health. There was much sympathy for people diagnosed with cancer, with the community rallying behind them and their families, but people tended to steer clear of those diagnosed with something as common as depression.

Mr Naughten said it was important that the Irish started talking themselves up because, as a race we were good at knocking people and looking for the negative in everything.

Joe Costello(Labour) said some 705 callers had telephoned the suicide helpline over the Easter weekend, with 56 per cent presenting with serious suicidal ideation.

Five calls were classed as “suicide in progress’’, he added.

Mr Costello said 59 per cent of callers were female and 40 per cent, higher than the 20 per cent average, male.

“Young men do not come out into the open on this issue and do not use the helplines in the same way as young women.’’

Joe Carey(FG) said there was little doubt that there was a direct correlation between the increased number of people taking their own lives and the economic situation.

“In reality, the rate of suicide had been rising for many years prior to the economic downturn, but the added pressures placed on individuals in recent years does not help.’’

Aengus Ó Snodaigh(SF) said the HSE should give a greater priority to dealing with mental health issues than it had given in the past.

“In our schools and clubs, those who are mentors, leaders and teachers need to understand how to identify the signs.

“Not everybody who has taken their lives, or attempted to do so, projects the signs but quite a number of people do so.’’

He said a harrowing statistic was that over 74 per cent of citizens knew somebody who died by suicide.

“That shows the scale of the problem. It is only one step removed from us.’’

Sean Kenny(Labour) said more people died from suicide worldwide than from armed conflict.

It was a myth, he said, that individuals who attempted suicide were insane.

Some 10 per cent of all suicidal people were psychotic or had delusional beliefs about reality.

“Most suicidal people suffer from the recognised mental illness of depression, but many depressed people adequately manage their daily affairs. The absence of insanity does not mean the absence of suicide risk.’’

Mr Kenny said on average a single suicide intimately affected at least six people.