TV chef Derry Clarke said there is still a lot of work to be done to reduce the number of suicides in Ireland.
The Michelin star chef and restaurateur has been open about the heartbreak of losing his 16-year-old son Andrew to suicide in December in 2012.
And hoping to encourage people to talk more openly about their mental health, and reduce the stigma surrounding suicide, the TV chef is co-hosting a banquet at Electric Picnic in aid of Pieta House and Temple Street this summer.
Speaking at the launch of the banquet at his restaurant L’Ecrivain yesterday, he told Irish Daily Mirror: “The stigma is a lot less now than it was ten years ago, maybe even five years ago but it is still there.
“Mental health, some people are afraid, some people are coming out with it but I think some are afraid to come out and say ‘I have a mental health issue’.
“They are afraid of being stigmatised in a certain way or looked upon differently. But hopefully that starts going.
“I keep saying this but here in Ireland at the moment we still have one of the highest suicide rates in young people in Europe, like that’s crazy.
“You know, road deaths have quite rightly come down because they have worked hard at it.
“And that is quite rightly. And one road death is still one too many.
“Don’t get me wrong here.
“But still suicide far outweighs road deaths in Ireland and there has been nothing done about it. Nothing really pushing on it.”
Partnering with Tesco Finest, Derry and fellow chef, Mark Moriarty the chef when on to explain the significance of holding the food experience at the Stradbally festival, he explained: “The new generation now, and with social media, and the pressure that brings, you know we are definitely going to have to do a lot more in all areas, because really something has to be done.
“And doing this is just brilliant. And it is the right place to do it at the festival. Because Electric Picnic is a good mixture of people.”
Meanwhile, when asked if he feels the tickets, which are priced at €120 would be a turn off for the event, he added: “It’s for a good cause and it is money going to something right and through.
“I mean Pieta House annually counsel at least 600 people a year, that’s a lot of people.
“They have a 24/7 helpline and to man that is a massive, massive cost. I think its about a million, or two million a year. And that’s a massive cost for a charity.
“They have four or five people on that phone line at all times and that’s a crazy, a big commitment to make for a charity.”
