Mattie McGrath warns of suicide epidemic as Jigsaw rollout delayed
Mattie McGrath raised urgent concerns about delays to the Jigsaw youth mental health service rollout in Tipperary and warned the postponement could cost lives. He said the planned main hub in Tullis and outreach services for Clonmel and other towns will be delayed by about a year and called for immediate action.
Announcement and planned rollout
The deputy recalled an earlier announcement by the minister of state that Jigsaw would be rolled out in Tipperary, with a main hub in Tullis and outreach services to be delivered in Clonmel and other areas. He reported that those outreach services are now delayed and that it will be about a year before Tullis is up and running.
Local impact and suicide concerns
Mattie McGrath described an "epidemic with suicides" in towns such as Carrigan Shure and Clonmel, saying young people are losing their lives year after year. He urged that a hub located only in Clonmel would be insufficient and called for services in smaller towns including Roscreen and North Tip as well.
Community groups and clergy involvement
The deputy cited local clergy and community groups who are engaged on the issue, naming Reverend Michael Toomey, Reverend Paul Warden and Father Jimmy Brown. He also referenced grassroots groups such as Suicide Watch, River Shure Watch and Taxi Watch as part of the local response.
Request to government and follow-up
He appealed directly to the Taoiseach to act because lives are being lost, stressing that the delay cannot be tolerated. A parliamentary response noted that the minister is before committee that morning and suggested the deputy could raise the question there, or the minister would be informed and asked to reply.
Keywords and search terms
Tipperary Jigsaw rollout delay - Tullis hub - Clonmel outreach - suicide epidemic - community groups - minister of state
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We were delighted in Tipperary, recently, for an announcement by Jim Daley, Minister of State, that we were going to get Jigsaw rolled out, but unfortunately our delight has dissipated, because now we're told that the main hub will be in Tullis, we accept that, and outreach sentences were to be delivered in Clonmel and other areas, and now we're told they'll be delayed for a further year, maybe more than a year, it'll be a year before we'll have Tullis up and running. Towns like Carrigan Shure and Clonmel in Tipperary and other areas have an epidemic with suicides. There's clergymen there, Reverend Michael Toomey and Reverend Paul Warden, Father Jimmy Brown and many others, and community groups, and Suicide Watch, River Shure Watch, Taxi Watch, and the amount of young people that are losing their lives due to suicide is an epidemic, and Taoiseach, we cannot wait for nearly two years to have these outreach services delivered, and we cannot have a hub in Clonmel, we have to have towns like Carrigan Shure, indeed Roscreen, North Tip and other areas as well, because it's desperately, desperately needed, and please can you act on this, because we're losing lives by the dozen, year in, year out. A general question, specifics, Tisha can't be explained. Thanks, Deputy. The Minister is actually before committee this morning, so you may wish to take your question to him directly there. If that's not possible, I'll certainly let him know that you raised it and ask him to reply to you.
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