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Seanad
‹ Order of Business

Substance-abuse bereavement service

Summary

Senator Quinn describes reading a message at an ecumenical service for families affected by substance-abuse deaths and highlights the scale of the problem.

No. It is a reminder, I think, of the great work that people such as the late Terry Wogan, Eamonn Andrews and so many others have done for Ireland, something on which Senator Seán D Barrett has touched. The relationship between our two islands has been helped a great deal on that basis.

I had a very interesting night last night. I was asked to read a message from Pope Francis at a service run by the National Family Support Network for those who had died from substance abuse. It amazed and surprised me how many people had died of substance abuse. It was an ecumenical service in the church on Seán MacDermott Street. People are making such an impressive effort from the sorrow of having lost somebody. It is a reminder to us that we must not take our eye off the ball regarding what we can do to solve this. Young people are injured, dying and continually coaxed into substance abuse.

There is an organisation called Irish Community Rapid Response which is encouraging the use of CPR training. They say that 400 lives could be saved with CPR training every year. That is the number of people who die due to people not having the opportunity to receive CPR training. Every school should do it. Perhaps every school now does it. Every sports club and everybody else should do it. We have the opportunity in this House to do the same ourselves. We can save lives and it is in our own hands. Let us encourage each one of us and every citizen to learn CPR. The organisation, which is based in County Kerry, has a very attractive team of people and needs a lot of support. Let us encourage them to have that support.

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