Government failing to address crisis

DESPITE the fact that more people kill themselves than die on Ireland’s roads every year, there is an appalling lack of conviction about Government efforts to address this crisis.

Any lingering doubts about this are soon dispelled by the an analysis of the official approach to suicide. In 2005, for instance, 399 people were killed on the roads whereas 431 took their own lives that year.

In the same year, the Government spent €30 million on road safety measures. But in 2007 the administration is busy cutting funding for suicide research from €3.7m to €1.8m. That speaks volumes about a regime that pays lip service to the campaign to reduce suicide.