Split-second decisions were made under the influence of alcohol to commit suicide, decisions that 10 seconds later would not be made, the founder of a suicide action group in Tarbert, Co Kerry said yesterday.
He was speaking following a meeting to campaign for addiction counsellors to be linked to a number of GP clinics in the area to tackle the problems of alcohol abuse.
Paddy Creedon, a management consultant in healthcare and a founder member of the Thomas Lyndon Memorial Foundation, said most communities recognised the link between alcohol and suicide long before it began to be acknowledged.
The foundation was set up in Tarbert after the tragic death of a much-loved local man at the age of 33. Its aim is to counter the damage done to families and communities by alcohol abuse.
"We have a surfeit of statistics. Alcohol and alcohol abuse is the number one social issue. It needs to be tackled," Mr Creedon said.
The west Limerick and north Kerry region has one of the highest alcohol addiction and suicide rates in the country, he said after a meeting of Health Service Executive (HSE) officials, councillors, nurses, GPs and addiction counsellors in Adare, Co Limerick on Wednesday night.
The meeting endorsed a submission to the HSE, proposing that 24 GPs out of 200 in the region be selected to begin the project. The addiction counsellors would be "on call" to participating doctors for around six hours a week.