Derry Sinn Féin MLA Ciara Ferguson welcomes funding for Suicide Prevention

The Foyle MLA 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 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.”

MLA Ferguson added: “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.

“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.”