Low priority for suicide prevention is criticised

LITTLE TO no progress is being made in tackling suicide, the president of the Irish Association of Suicidology has said.

Dan Neville TD, who is also Fine Gael spokesman on mental health, said it was clear that the Government was unwilling to address the issue properly given that the budget for the HSE's National Office of Suicide Prevention remained frozen at €3.5 million. despite recommendations that it be increased to €5.5 million .

His comments came on World Suicide Prevention Day yesterday.

"The fact is that almost 500 people a year are still dying by suicide," he said.

"This is more than die in road traffic accidents and yet the budget for the Road Safety Authority is €40 million."

He called for an immediate increase in the budget for the National Office of Suicide Prevention to €10 million.

The office at the same time published its annual report yesterday, stressing the importance of statutory and community organisations working together to tackle suicide.

CSO figures for 2005 - the latest year for which full figures are available - shows there were 481 recorded suicides.

This was a slight reduction on the figures for the previous years. Provisional data indicate there were 409 deaths in 2006 and 460 last year.

Given that the population has increased the overall rate of suicide has reduced, the office points out.

The rate of youth suicide remains the fifth highest in Europe with men under the age of 35 accounting for 40 per cent of all suicides.

Separately people are being urged to be vigilant about thoughts of suicide among friends or family and to "take suicide prevention into their own hands".

The Pieta House organisation, based in Lucan, Co Dublin, which provides specialised treatment for those who have professed a desire to commit suicide or who have engaged in self-harm, said the campaign was part of its "Mind Your Buddy" campaign started earlier in the year.

"It calls on the general public to take suicide prevention into its own hands by tackling suicidal ideation among friends and family members through the process of APR - ask, persuade and refer - the mental equivalent of CPR cardiopulmonary resuscitation]," said chief executive Joan Freeman.

The campaign identifies a number of signs that someone could be suicidal or in crisis.

Among these is that they are not answering their phone or have it turned off; they may say things like: "I don't see the point any more", "I feel like ending it all" or "I see no future"; they may isolate themselves more, drop out of social or sporting activities or they may be more suddenly aggressive, picking fights or arguments, especially when drunk.

Ms Freeman said she believed the majority of suicides could be prevented by increased awareness of people harbouring thoughts about suicide.

A common misconception, however, was that suicidal people were suffering from depression.

"This is generally not the case. The majority of suicides are caused by many complex socio-cultural factors and are more likely to occur in periods of socio-economic, family and individual crisis situations such as relationship break-ups or death of a loved one," she said.