Suicide will be the "biggest killer" of the next generation, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams told the Northern Assembly at Stormont yesterday during a debate on suicide prevention.
Mr Adams called for a concentrated approach to dealing with suicide which last year claimed the lives of almost 800 people on the island of Ireland, 291 in Northern Ireland and close to 500 in the Republic.
Mr Adams tabled a motion calling for the creation of an ad-hoc Assembly committee to address the issue. However, he accepted a DUP amendment which put the responsibility on the Assembly's health committee to develop an action plan to tackle suicide.
He said that over the past 10 years the incidence of suicide had risen by more than 25 per cent in Ireland. It was an issue that convulsed many local communities, with north and west Belfast particularly affected.
"The biggest killer of the next generation in Ireland will be suicide. Legislatures and governments must show leadership on suicide prevention," said Mr Adams.
"We have the power to prioritise, to develop strategies and allocate resources. We cannot abdicate our responsibility."
Mr Adams said Sinn Féin wanted suicide prevention to be prioritised across the island under the institutions of the North-South Ministerial Council. With the proper approach it could be reduced, he added.
"If road safety, drug-trafficking, and foot-and-mouth disease can all be designated as issues for all-Ireland action, then the same can and must be done with suicide prevention."
The Sinn Féin president accepted the amendment from the DUP chairwoman of the Assembly health committee Iris Robinson proposing that the committee devise a strategy to address suicide, and to report by February 12th next year.
Minister for Health Michael McGimpsey said suicide rates would drop if drug and alcohol abuse was also tackled.
"Alcohol and drugs decrease inhibitions, increase the likelihood of a depressed young person making a suicide attempt. American research suggests that one in three adolescents were intoxicated at the time of their suicide attempt," he said. He also expressed concerns about certain websites.
Ms Robinson welcomed Mr Adams's acknowledgement that the health committee should drive the issue. "If we accept this is a social, biological, spiritual and mental health problem, then we can look to all of these areas for the solution," she said.
