Parents should never leave unchallenged a statement by a child that life is not worth living, according to Dr Michael Kelleher, principal investigator with the National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork.
Dr Kelleher was making a presentation yesterday on the report of the National Task Force on Suicide to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.
He told the committee that problems of depression or other indications of a tendency towards suicide were best treated within the family unit. Parents should not rush off to GPs or psychiatrists at the first sign of trouble.
Children who leave school before the legal age of 16 are possibly at risk, according to Dr Kelleher. "Children don't leave school without a reason," he said.
That reason could be a disturbed home or the beginnings of depression. "There are places in Dublin and Cork where the Celtic Tiger hasn't visited, and never will," where people do not see themselves as part of the educational system.
Mr Batt O`Keeffe (FF), chairman of the committee, said Dr Kelleher's report disproved the notion that there was a correlation between suicide and the pursuit of points in the education system. The suicide rate is shown to be highest where unemployment and low participation in education are greatest.
Dr Kelleher also said there was no evident correlation between suicide and a drop in religious observance. Suicide rates in rural areas, where religious observance is more constant, are higher than in urban areas, where it is falling.
Senator Pat Gallagher (Lab) asked is there should be a code of practice for the media in reporting on suicide. Dr Kelleher said the media had some influence, but by far the most important factor in "copycat" suicides was shared local knowledge of how a person ended their life.