MEP says mental health strategy needed for farming community 'to address the silent pandemic'
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An MEP has called for Ireland to introduce a mental health strategy for the farming community "to address the silent pandemic".
Fine Gael's Maria Walsh, as part of EU Mental Health Week, hosted an event focusing on mental health and suicide prevention within the farming community.
While farm safety is a major issue in Ireland, Ms Walsh said that mental health challenges and suicidal ideations have "sadly become the norm, and shockingly, almost 25% of Irish farmers are at risk of suicide".
She believes that addressing the suicidal ideation among the farming community "is just as important as tackling the safety risks associated with life on the farm".
As part of the event, Ms Walsh invited representatives from UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science, and from the School of Psychology, to share their research, highlighting the frightening reality that 25% of Irish farmers are at risk of suicide.
Dr Tomás Russell from UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science, and Professor Louise McHugh from the School of Psychology, addressed the forum in Brussels this week, and noted that the findings from their survey were "stark but not surprising".
In a study conducted by the UCD team, the findings showed that 23.4% of Irish farmers surveyed were considered "at risk of suicide", and in the two weeks prior to the survey, these farmers had "suicidal thoughts or urges to take their own lives".
"Farm safety is a major issue in rural Ireland. It is one that we hear about in the media and through safety campaigns, and rightly so," Ms Walsh said this week.
"We need to break down the barriers and address the taboo. Our farming community, particularly in rural Ireland, is finding it really tough and we are continuing to ignore the difficulties," she added.
The event heard that mental health difficulties have become a "silent pandemic" across Ireland in recent years, and an EU-wide mental health strategy is critical to address this.
"We need to listen to farmers and involve the farming community in the discussion," Ms Walsh said.
"We also must ensure that research is the backbone of any policy or support on farmer mental health, and that the voice of the farming community is heard."
