Crisis team urged after spate of suicides in city suburb

The Government has been urged to set up a “crisis response team” to examine a spate of suicides on the south side of Cork City which has seen at least five young adults and teenagers die “in scarcely a month”.

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire called for immediate national intervention to find out what has caused the cluster of tragedies as he revealed he personally knew two of those who have lost their lives.

Speaking during a Fianna Fáil motion debate seeking mental health funding rises, staff increases, and multi-year budgets to ensure resources are not transferred to non-mental health services, he said his community is “frankly at a loss” about what is happening.

“I speak on behalf of a community which is hurting, which has been shocked and traumatised by the loss of so many people in recent weeks,” said Mr Ó Laoghaire. “Last Friday night I attended a candlelit vigil at the Lough [on the south side of Cork City], and despite appalling weather, some 200 people attended.

“But the community can only do so much. I support the call, made initially by [Independent Cork city councillor] Mick Finn, for a crisis response team to tackle this. We need councils, gardaí, the HSE, Túsla, and public representatives.

“If we can bring all these bodies together for flooding, surely we can do so where so many lives have been lost.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire said Cork City’s suicide rate has been “consistently” higher than the national average.

The Fianna Fáil motion was supported by Fine Gael mental health minister Helen McEntee.