Suicide in Kerry exacerbated by funding cuts and lapsed promises

I refer to your front page report (Nov 12) on the high level of suicide in Co Kerry and Co Cork.

Minister Kathleen Lynch is quoted as saying that a special allowance of €35m was provided for mental health services this year, primarily to strengthen community mental teams and to implement Reach Out, the State strategy for action on suicide prevention.

Regrettably, in Kerry, as elsewhere in Ireland, the reality is far bleaker than the picture being painted by Minister Lynch. A Vision for Change(AVFC), which was published in 2006, remains an aspiration rather than a reality in Kerry, and elsewhere.