MEP says that Ireland must introduce a specific mental health strategy to address what is a “Silent Pandemic”

Ireland must introduce a specific mental health strategy to address the silent pandemic that is casting a shadow across the farming community in rural Ireland.

That was the message delivered by Midlands-North-West MEP Maria Walsh, when she hosted an event in Brussels this week with her EPP colleagues.

As part of EU Mental Health Week, the Fine Gael MEP hosted the event with the Belgian MEP, focussing on mental health and suicide prevention within the farming community.

As part of the event, As part of the event, MEP Walsh invited representatives from UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science, and from the School of Psychology, to share their research and they highlighted the frightening reality that 25% of Irish farmers are at risk of suicide.

Speaking to Galway Bay FM News this afternoon, MEP Walsh said that it was a terrifying statistic.