Honohan 'suicide' comments welcomed

Independent Senator David Norris and Dragons' Den judge Sean Gallagher, today joined forces to promote a campaign for those bereaved by suicide organised by Console.

Controversial remarks by Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan yesterday that banks were driving some debt-ridden borrowers to suicide, were widely praised at the event.

“We must listen to people like Edmund Honohan,” Mr Norris said. He said speaking out about the issue would help those in crisis. “We must end the silence,” he said.

The Senator said men in particular sometimes had difficulty talking about their feelings. “It’s not seen as being manly,” he said.

Mr Gallagher said older men often did not support each other "face to face" as women had traditionally done. "They did it shoulder to shoulder at a bar counter," he said.

However, Mr Gallagher said these are the social group that were now often isolated. “Very often those who need us most are not those who shout the loudest but often those who are silent,” he said.

Console chief executive Paul Kelly also said he welcomed the comments by Mr Honohan. Families that contacted the organisation were in great distress.

“What the Master of the High Court is saying is the reality in our work and we welcome his statement. The message we’re trying to get out to people is that there is help there, there is support there,” Mr Kelly said.