Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2012
467 Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the budget, including any allocations announced in the budget for A Vision for Change allocated to the National Suicide Prevention Office [33063/12]
View answer469 Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health the progress made on the implementation of the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014. [33067/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 467 and 469 together.
The budget for the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) is set by the Health Service Executive. In 2011, the total funding available nationally through the HSE for suicide prevention was about €9 million of which €4.1 million is administered by NOSP and is used to fund voluntary and statutory agencies delivering services in the areas of prevention, intervention, postvention and research. The remaining €5 million is available regionally to fund Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention, Self-Harm Liaison Nurses in Hospital Emergency Departments and local suicide prevention initiatives. In 2012, an additional €3 million (part of the special allocation of €35m for mental health) has been made available to NOSP to implement suicide prevention initiatives in line with Reach Out.
Since the launch of Reach Out and the establishment of the NOSP, there has been a significant amount of cross-sectoral working which has resulted in considerable advances in suicide prevention. The NOSP has implemented many of the action areas engaging a strategic approach in four key areas — delivering a general population approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention; using targeted programmes for people at high risk of suicide; delivering services to individuals who have engaged in deliberate self harm; providing support to families and communities bereaved by suicide; and commissioning research into suicidal behaviour. Initiatives progressed to date include:
ASIST and Safetalk suicide awareness training programmes.
The tough economic times programme.
Mental Health awareness campaigns.
Supporting voluntary organisations in their work on suicide prevention.
Developing all-island co-operation in the areas of promoting positive mental health and tackling the issue of suicide.
Funding a number of Suicide Community Assessment Nurses (SCAN) to work within primary care to provide an effective and coordinated response for people who are in distress.
The establishment of a Working Group to address the issue of reducing access to the means of suicide and self-harm in a national and coordinated way.
In addition, the National Office recently established a Working Group to review the current activities in this area and to determine the priorities within suicide prevention to ensure that we maximise the available resources. A report on the NOSP's activities is published annually and laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The report for 2011 is expected to be published in September.
