The Government\u2019s new suicide and self-harm strategy sets out important recommendations, but they must be backed by real action on poverty, homelessness and social exclusion, as well as a serious plan to staff mental health services, according to Social Democrats mental health spokesperson Liam Quaide.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new Connecting for Life strategy contains important and welcome elements. It is positive that suicide and self-harm are treated as public health issues, and not simply as matters of individual resilience or personal coping.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt places proper emphasis on the voices of people directly affected by suicide, self-harm and bereavement, and recognises the need for better data, stronger self-harm supports, more compassionate crisis responses, improved Emergency Department care, and joined-up action across Government.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also significant that the strategy recognises the social determinants of suicide and self- harm, referring to socioeconomic disadvantage, unemployment, financial stress, debt, insecure housing and homelessness.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecogniton of those suicide risk factors is important because people who reach a point of unbearable distress are not doing so in a vacuum. They may be facing poverty, insecure housing, addiction, trauma, isolation, discrimination, domestic violence, or long delays in accessing mental health support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategy also identifies particular groups who are at increased risk, including Travellers, LGBTQI+ people, neurodivergent people, people with substance misuse issues, people experiencing homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, women during pregnancy and after birth, victims and survivors of trauma, prisoners and people with chronic illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suicide rate among Travellers is one of the starkest examples of deep and persistent inequality in this state. Any suicide prevention strategy that refers to Traveller mental health must also confront racism, exclusion, poor accommodation, poverty, barriers to healthcare and the historic failure to provide culturally appropriate supports.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilarly, where other groups are identified as being at increased risk of suicide or self- harm, there must be more than targeted information campaigns. There must be timely, accessible, trusted and properly resourced services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government cannot treat suicide prevention as a health-service issue alone while leaving housing, poverty, social protection, addiction, domestic violence and discrimination in separate political silos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also real questions about the capacity of mental health services to deliver what this plan promises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategy document refers to trauma-informed care and integrated crisis pathways. Yet mental health services across the system are inadequately staffed due to sustained recruitment restrictions imposed by the Government, as well as a historical failure to invest in the workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in suicidal distress need timely access to skilled, compassionate, properly-resourced services. Frontline staff need the time, staffing levels and clinical back-up to respond safely and humanely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is missing is a clear workforce plan to ensure these ambitions are more than words on a page. We need staffing targets and comprehensive recruitment based on those targets to properly develop community and inpatient mental health services, crisis teams, addiction services, perinatal mental health and bereavement supports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf suicide prevention is to mean anything, it must involve urgent and comprehensive action on the conditions that can deepen despair in people\u2019s lives. That means serious anti-poverty measures, secure and affordable housing, addiction supports, debt and income supports and trauma-informed care.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n
May 28th, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Government\u2019s new suicide and self-harm strategy sets out important recommendations, but they must be backed by real action on poverty, homelessness and social exclusion, as well as a serious plan to staff mental health services, according to Social Democrats mental health spokesperson Liam Quaide. Deputy Quaide said: \u201cThe new Connecting for Life strategy contains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[652,653,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liam-quaide","category-mental-health","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n