Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2015
844. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health to outline if an overall target for the reduction of suicide rates was set out by the then Government on the advice of the Minister for Health and Children, as recommended in Reach Out, the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014; and if so the target set. [38296/15]
View answerDealing with the current high levels of suicide and self-harm is a priority for this Government. Suicide prevention in Ireland up to 2014 was guided by Reach Out, the first National suicide prevention strategy. The National Office for Suicide Prevention was established in 2005 within the HSE to oversee the implementation, monitoring and coordination of the strategy.
Between the years 2007 and 2011, particularly since the onset of the economic downturn in 2008, there was an increase in the suicide rate, specifically among men. The overall increase in suicide in Ireland between these years can be wholly attributed to an increase in the male rate of suicide. According to official CSO data there were 541 deaths by suicide in 2012. This represents a 2.35% decrease on the 2011 figures. Provisional data for 2013 and 2014 suggest a further decreasing trend in the rate of suicide.
The setting of targets in this area is difficult, however, an interim target to achieve a 10% reduction in suicide by 2010 was agreed around 2009, using the 2005 suicide figure as the baseline. However, this target was set against the backdrop of an upward trend in suicide from mid-2000. No further targets were set under the Reach Out strategy.
We recognise that the number of deaths by suicide is far too high. In June, as part of our effort to address this issue, the Government published Connecting for Life – our new National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015–2020. The new Strategy, which has a strong focus on implementation and outcomes to reflect national and international best practice, aims to reduce the level of suicide and achieve a reduced rate of self-harm presentations over its lifetime. The World Health Organisation target of a 10% reduction in the rates of suicide by 2020, has been adopted as a minimum for the Strategy.
