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Press release

Minister Butler welcomes the publication of the 2022 National Office for Suicide Prevention Annual Report

Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler has welcomed the publication today of the Health Service Executive (HSE) National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) Annual Report for 2022.

The report outlines continued progress in relation to the actions in the national suicide and self-harm reduction strategy Connecting for Life.

Minister Butler said:

"The report highlights the continued efforts being undertaken to advance the implementation of Connecting for Life, the national suicide reduction strategy, and achieve an Ireland where fewer lives are lost to suicide. The HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention have very capably driven the implementation of this strategy since its inception.

"Suicide prevention remains a key priority for me and for this government, and I am heartened by the progress evidenced in this annual report. Funding provided to the National Office for Suicide Prevention has increased from €5 million in 2012 to €14 million in 2022, underlining the importance placed on this work.

"The annual report shows continued progress in the area of suicide and self-harm reduction in 2022. It underlines the importance of the cross-sectoral engagement facilitated by the Connecting for Life National Cross-sectoral Steering and Implementation Group, chaired by my department, in addition to local and national partnerships, for the implementation of Connecting for Life."

Key achievements include:

  • investment of €7 million in the NGO sector, supporting the work of 21 organisations that provide a wide range of suicide prevention and mental health supports, services, and other initiatives. NGOs play an important role in reaching priority groups, an essential component of suicide prevention
  • delivering evidence-based suicide and self-harm prevention training programmes to almost 12,000 people nationwide
  • core investment in the delivery of the new national HSE Mental Health Literacy Campaign that commenced in Q4 2022
  • resourcing and supporting the work of 23 HSE Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention (ROSPs) across the nine Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs)
  • publishing the HSE NOSP Irish Probable Suicide Deaths Study (IPSDS) which provides new, in-depth information, on people who died by ‘probable suicide’. Research and data that will help to inform and support suicide reduction efforts
  • supporting the completion and publication of AfterWords: A survey of people bereaved by suicide in Ireland, from HUGG and the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF). The survey provides invaluable findings that is helping to shape postvention services and supports

Plans have commenced for an evaluation of the Connecting for Life strategy to be conducted across 2023 and 2024. This will help to inform the development of a national strategic approach to suicide prevention in Ireland post-2024.

Notes

The 2022 report reveals that 412 deaths from suicide were registered by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) last year, comprised of 331 male suicides and 81 female suicides. Since 2012, when there were 585 deaths from suicide, there has been a significant reduction in such deaths.

The report also references self-harm data produced by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF), which highlights that there has been stability in self-harm rates. Between 2010 and 2020 self-harm rates decreased, with self-harm among men decreasing by 17% and self-harm among women decreasing by 5%. Despite this, self-harm remains a significant issue, particularly amongst young women in the 10-19 age group.

Priorities for 2023 include:

  • continuing to work with key stakeholders to optimise adherence to regulations and prevent paracetamol-related intentional drug overdose
  • pilot the use of the HSE Incident Management Framework in cases of community suicide, in line with guidance developed by HSE NOSP
  • in collaboration with Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF), develop bespoke training in grief and complicated grief (long-lasting, intense grief) for staff in clinical services
  • introduce #chatsafe (a set of evidence-informed tools and tips to support young people to communicate safely about suicide on social media) for parents and carers in Ireland
  • continued work to develop enhanced suicide data, in real time, to enable key data driven suicide prevention interventions to be delivered

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