The Inquiry received evidence from 52 organisations and individuals and heard oral evidence from organisations working across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Executive is being urged to overhaul how suicide prevention is funded, with an Assembly Inquiry calling for a new ring-fenced fund requiring Departments across Government to contribute to preventing suicide.
The All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention says responsibility for funding prevention cannot sit predominantly with the Department of Health when many of the factors that increase suicide risk, including poverty, housing, education, employment, trauma and social isolation, are influenced by decisions taken across Government.
Its Inquiry into Cross-Departmental Funding for Suicide Prevention calls for the establishment of a ring-fenced Cross-Departmental Suicide Prevention Fund, administered by the Department of Health but jointly financed through agreed contributions from relevant Executive Departments.
The recommendation comes as the latest figures show that 290 suicide deaths were registered in Northern Ireland in 2024.
The Inquiry received evidence from 52 organisations and individuals and heard oral evidence from organisations working across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
The evidence pointed to a fundamental problem in the current approach: suicide prevention is recognised as being influenced by issues across Government, but the structures for funding, leadership and accountability have not developed to reflect that.
The APG is therefore calling for suicide prevention to become a shared responsibility across the Executive, with Departments whose policies and spending decisions can influence suicide risk expected to play a direct role in prevention.
The Department of Health would continue to provide strategic leadership, but the proposed approach would create a formal mechanism through which relevant Departments contribute to prevention and are part of the accountability for delivering it.
The Inquiry, supported by Samaritans Northern Ireland in its role as Secretariat to the APG, also calls for stronger political oversight of suicide prevention.
It recommends that the Executive Working Group on Wellbeing, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention meets at least quarterly to oversee implementation of Protect Life 2, coordinate cross-departmental action, monitor delivery of the proposed fund and report regularly on progress.
Launching the report, Órlaithí Flynn MLA, Chair of the All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention, said: “Behind every one of the 290 suicide deaths registered in 2024 is a person, a family and a community whose lives have been changed forever. We cannot allow those figures to become something we simply accept.
“This Inquiry was established because the evidence was telling us something important. Across the North, community and voluntary organisations, statutory services, volunteers and people with lived experience are working together every day to prevent suicide and support people in distress. Yet our funding and governance arrangements have not kept pace with how suicide prevention is now delivered.
“The message from this Inquiry is clear. The causes of suicide extend far beyond healthcare. Poverty, housing, education, employment, trauma and social isolation all play a part, and tackling those issues requires action right across Government.
“It is evident that successive years of underfunding by the British Treasury has restricted the Executive in being able to invest more in suicide prevention and support services.
“It is a fact that there is no parity between how the North is being funded compared to Scotland and Wales. That needs to change. The Executive needs to be funded fairly.
“The Executive needs a fair funding package which can then be directed into tackling our mental health crisis.
“Greater funding should also be accompanied by more regular meetings of the Executive Working Group on Wellbeing, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to drive collaboration, accountability and progress.
“These are practical, evidence-informed recommendations that recognise suicide prevention as a shared responsibility. If we are serious about saving lives, then our approach to funding, leadership and accountability must reflect that reality.”
The report concludes that preventing suicide requires action much earlier than the point at which someone reaches crisis.
It argues that investment in prevention can benefit individuals, families and communities while reducing pressure across health and social care, housing, education, policing, justice and other public services.
The APG is calling on the Executive to act on the Inquiry’s recommendations and embed shared funding, shared responsibility and shared accountability for suicide prevention across Government.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login