‘We must focus on reducing suicide rates’ – Murphy

Newry MLA Conor Murphy has said we must continue to work together across government and other sectors to reduce the suicide rate in the north of Ireland.

The Sinn Féin MLA was speaking after the thirteenth meeting of the Ministerial Co-ordination Group on Suicide Prevention.

“Sadly, the suicide rate remains stubbornly high at around 280 deaths each year despite direct investment under Protect Life of £7million annually. While there was an increase in suicide in 2015, the three year average rate for the north of Ireland has remained unchanged for the last 10 years,” Murphy stated.

“I have no doubt that, through the unstinting efforts of community groups and statutory services, lives have been saved. However, every life lost is one too many and we must continue to work together across government and other sectors to reduce the incidence of suicide.

“There remains a strong health inequality aspect to suicide – in deprived areas, suicide is three times more prevalent than in the least deprived areas, while the incidence of self-harm is four times higher.

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He added, “Men continue to be three times more likely to die by suicide than women. This health inequality is something that I am determined to address and we must focus our resources on tackling the differential.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Oct 17 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry