Clinton backs suicide prevention programme

Former US President Bill Clinton will fly to Ireland next month to back RehabCare’s plans to develop a national suicide prevention programme.

The new service - the first of its kind in this country - is being developed at a time when the number of deaths by suicide in Ireland continues to increase.

A total of 444 people died by suicide in Ireland during 2003 - the last year for which figures are available. A further 58 died from undetermined causes, which have a high probability of being suicide related.

More people die from suicide every year than are killed on our roads. RehabCare chief executive Angela Kerins said: “These stark figures only go some way towards conveying the devastation that is being caused by suicide in communities the length and breadth of Ireland”.

Mr Clinton will fly to Dublin to give his support and deliver a keynote address to a fundraising gala dinner in the City West Hotel on Wednesday May 23 to help establish the service.

He accepted the invitation to address the event following the intervention of Nobel John Hume, who agreed to become patron of the event after learning about RehabCare’s work on suicide prevention.

“It is an extraordinary coup for RehabCare, in developing its suicide prevention service to have the support of Bill Clinton, one of the world’s truly iconic figures. He has already done so much for this island through his work and support for the peace process, and through his support for this new service he will again be directly helping to save the lives of Irish people,“ said Mr Hume.

The RehabCare Suicide Prevention Programme will provide training, consultancy and service development expertise to provide targeted support to people at risk of suicide.

RehabCare is the health and social care division of the Rehab Group.