Turning the tide on suicide

I met former US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday 24 May to talk about the peace process and the efforts to rebuild it following the elections. He was in Dublin to attend a fundraiser in aid of suicide awareness. His visit focused welcome attention on this issue.

The global death toll resulting from suicide exceeds war and homicide according to a recent scientific journal. (New Scientist, 8 September 2004). The World Health Organisation estimates that nearly one million people a year take their own lives.

Ireland has the second highest incidence of suicide in Europe. It is the biggest killer of young people in our country. That makes suicide a national disaster. Our country urgently needs a national disaster plan.

Families the length and breadth of Ireland know only too well the devastating impact of suicide. Suicide effects both rural and urban communities. Whether in north west Kerry, Wexford, west Belfast or Derry families are devastated by the pain of loved ones taking their own lives. There were 577 reported deaths by suicide across this island in the year 2003 to 2004. That death toll is greater than the number of people killed in traffic accidents in the same period.

Over the last ten years, reported suicides in Ireland have risen by more than 25 per cent. Recent research by the Priory Group, which claims to be Europe's leading independent provider of acute and secure mental health services, indicates that in Britain and Ireland there is one reported suicide every 84 minutes. This is the human cost of suicide today.

The west Belfast community, which I represent, is one of the areas in Ireland where suicide is most prevalent. In the last three months, community groups in west Belfast report that more than a dozen young people have taken their own lives. This cycle of deaths has followed a familiar pattern, with young men disproportionately affected. Across Belfast, the trend is the same, with young men who live in the most socio-economically deprived areas being most at risk. But Belfast is not unique. In fact the death rate here by suicide reflects the national picture. The number of unreported suicides is estimated to be higher again.

In the United States it is estimated that for every person who takes their own life there are six survivors. That means there are hundreds, probably thousands of people in Ireland who have tried to take their own lives. That is a lot of trauma, much of it hidden.

In west and north Belfast, recent suicides have convulsed local communities, exacerbating the sense of powerlessness which people feel when faced with the reality of a loved one taking their own life. There is also a feeling of guilt as friends and family ask why they didn't see it coming and a sense of panic as parents and peers worry about who will be next.

Many communities in Ireland have suffered this experience. My party colleagues and I have been working directly with local communities throughout the country. Those affected directly by suicide, and those who work with people at risk and bereaved families, have a great deal of experience to share with others. That kind of exchange should be structured and supported throughout the 32 counties. Much more progress could be made in that way at a grassroots level through expanding networks of support.

Families are not receiving the support they need to cope with the strain of someone who is feeling suicidal, or with the aftermath of someone who takes his or her own life.

The will to help those in most need is not in doubt at a pastoral or community level. However, goodwill and compassion will not be enough on their own to prevent suicide. Our youth leaders, community activists, sports organisations, school- teachers, clerics and health workers must be mobilised together and resourced to be effective. Leadership, co-ordination, action and resources are needed. And parents need to know that they are not on their own.

Last autumn, I met with the person who was then the British direct rule Minister with responsibility for Health. I proposed then that the Department of Health lead the development of a regional suicide prevention strategy for the six counties. I also proposed that the Minister for Health meet with her counterpart in Dublin and agree to make suicide prevention a priority area of co-operation under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council. Neither of these requests have been met thus far.

Last week I wrote to the Tanaiste and Minister of Health on these matters. An all-Ireland approach to suicide and self-harm can be devised, if there is the political will. In Scotland, where the political will exists, a suicide prevention strategy has been devised, resourced and implemented with positive early results.

The components of an effective strategy are already evident in many places throughout the 32 counties. Often, the problem is funding and resources. In the six counties, only two per cent of the block grant from the British exchequer is spent on mental health. In west and north Belfast, where the need is greatest for mental health investment, the financial shortfall is greatest. The impact of this shortfall is made worse as community counselling services are losing staff because of lack of proper funding. Sustained government investment in community-based care and treatment and emergency response is required in communities like these, as a matter of urgency.

There is under-funding of mental health services, particularly for children and young people. The problem of youth suicide should also be an area for co-operation between the Children's Commissioner in the north of Ireland and the Ombudsman for Children in the south. They should adopt a unified approach to the advocacy for those young people at risk of suicide and self-harm throughout the country.

The same initiative should be taken by Human Rights Commissions north and south.

Change must come soon. For those who are in danger of taking their own lives in Ireland today, change cannot come soon enough. We must give them help. We must give them hope.