A cluster of tragic deaths among young women in west Dublin in 2019 have been linked to domestic violence and drug use among other reasons, a new report by the HSE has found.
The housing crisis and social media were also motives behind the suicides among the young women, the investigation uncovered.
The investigation titled 'Rapid assessment and community response to suicide and suspected suicide in Dublin South' was ordered by the HSE’s national office of suicide prevention.
It was raised as a response to the rising rates of suicide in the Ballyfermot community.
Eight women in their 20s and early 30s tragically died in the space of ten weeks - some of them mothers - which gave rise to the launch of the investigation.
Some of those feared that their children would be removed by Tusla and didn't seek help because of this, the report cites.
Four of the women, from Ballyfermot, died between April and July 2019 as well as in neigbouring Clondalkin, Tallaght and Palmerstown.
HSE held in-depth interviews with local services and relatives of the victims this year between February and May.
The report says: "The lives lost of these young women has been deeply traumatic to the area.
[The aim of the report is] “not to make inferences about individual cases but identify potential risk factors to prevent future suicide clusters in Ballyfermot.
"There was a feeling amongst research participants that the contagion effect may be stronger in young women, and that when one young mother dies by suicide, the psychological proximity felt can remove the protective barrier of parenthood for other young mothers against suicide ideation."
If you are affected by the issues in the article, please contact Pieta House 1800-247247 or Samaritans 116 123.
