There is still a significant amount of stigma attached to mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, the president of the Irish Association of Suicidology has claimed.

According to Dan Neville, who is also a Fine Gael TD, while there have been improvements in this area in recent years, ‘many people are still unnerved by the idea of mental ill health'.

"People who live with these illnesses are often marked out as being different from the rest of society. This is not the case and the key to changing this perception is to de-stigmatise these illnesses," Mr Neville insisted.

He acknowledged that recovery from mental illness is a ‘wide subject and is unique to each person'.

"Each individual has to find their own strategy for recovery," he said.

Mr Neville noted that mental health services play a crucial role in each person's recovery. He insisted that a ‘more community-based service would help mitigate some of the negative socio-economic issues associated with mental illness'.

"Many people with mental illness are at high risk of ending up homeless, becoming involved in petty crime, being inappropriately imprisoned or being in a state of social isolation and dereliction. In fact, those enduring mental illness are at risk of repeated involuntary detention," he added.