Editorial: More thought needed on problems that persist despite resources - Kilkenny Live

Father’s Day on Sunday marked the conclusion of Men’s Health Week — an initiative to raise awareness of preventable health problems, support men and boys to live healthier lives, and encourage them to seek help or treatment at an early stage.

Experts say that the health of Irish men and boys continues to be unnecessarily poor. Research shows that local men suffer a disproportionate burden of ill health; they die younger and have higher death rates than women for almost all of the leading causes of death.

Poorer lifestyles (including smoking, drinking, diet and lack of physical activity) are responsible for a large proportion of chronic diseases. Late presentation to health services can lead to a number of problems becoming untreatable in the future.

It’s no secret at this stage that men’s mental health needs often go unmet, and male suicide rates are typically more than three and a half times higher. Awareness is only part of fixing the problem — it requires addressing at every level.

AMBER INCREASE
It’s troubling to see a continued steep rise in the number of people seeking the assitance of local services for problems relating to domestic abuse. 

More than 500 women living in Kilkenny and Carlow contacted Amber for support and information in 2023 - an increase of 111% on the number who accessed support and information in 2022. Thepattern is borne out by statistics from local gardai.  A recent meeting of Kilkenny’s Joint Policing Committee showed there were 126 incidents reported from January to the end of March this year, compared to 330 incidents in the whole of 2023.

The hope is that a sizeable proportion of this increase is due to an increase in the number of people coming forward and reporting this type of crime, and not that the incidences of domestic violence are on the rise.

In any case, it’s another societal problem that requires constant attention and resources.