West Belfast community workers and bereaved families yesterday (Wednesday) lashed out at the NIO Minister for Health, demanding that he retract a statement suggesting paramilitary activity was the key reason for people dying by suicide.
West Belfast MP Gerry Adams also strongly condemned Minister Shaun Woodward for his comments made during a series of media appearances on Tuesday. Mr Woodward described the link between paramilitary activity and suicide as "a special flavour to Northern Ireland."
He continued: "You take out a young man. You shoot him in the kneecaps or in the ankles. He'll never play sport again. His manhood feels destroyed. His self-esteem – like his bones – is shattered.
"So when it comes to dealing with this problem, remember that, with not a penny more, if we could end the paramilitary-style attacks on these young men, we'd start saving many of these lives from tomorrow.
"If we could solve the problem with a cheque-book it would have been done."
Responding to the minister's remarks, Evelyn Gilroy, who lost a daughter to suicide and is now spearheading a campaign for a 24/7 suicide response unit in North and West Belfast, said, "If the Minister is suggesting that the majority of those who commit suicide have been involved in paramilitary beatings, I am absolutely horrified."
The tearful mother, who is also a member of the Suicide Prevention Taskforce, added: "My daughter was not involved in any paramilitary activity. She did not receive any paramilitary-style beatings.
"I receive constant phone calls from people who are on 24-hour suicide watch who have absolutely no links to paramilitary activity, and to label these people and their families in this way is an insensitive thing to do."
Evelyn, who has unsuccessfully requested statistics from the North and West Belfast Health and Social Services Trust (NWBHSST) detailing the number of people presenting at local hospitals with suicidal tendencies or evidence of self-harm, also questioned where the Minister received the information that led him to conclude that paramilitary activity was a key cause of suicide.
"We certainly haven't been getting any information along these lines – we can't even get simple hospital statistics. If he has access to statistics and information that we don't, I think we should be made aware of it," she said.
"Certainly it's been proven that in post-conflict situations, incidents of suicide will increase by an average of 10%. But social deprivation, unemployment, the lack of community resources and under-funding of mental health services are an equally high cause of suicide, particularly amongst young people.
"These facts only strengthen the case for a 24/7 unit in North and West Belfast."
Lenadoon Community Forum manager Michael Doherty was amongst a group of families and local representatives who met with the Minister last week to discuss the growing problem of suicide in the North. Yesterday he asked why, during the meeting, the Minister did not link suicide with paramilitary activity.
"This theory seems to be plucked out of the air, and now the families who attended last week's meeting feel let down because they took him seriously when he said he wanted to help. If he has the evidence to back up his assertions, he should present it to us. If not, he should retract his statement."
West Belfast MP Gerry Adams, who also attended the meeting, said the Minister's remarks this week have damaged confidence in his ability to deal with the issue of suicide. "Shaun Woodward met with families bereaved by suicide and community activists last week. He heard from them their experience of suicide. He claimed he was in listening mode. However, based on his remarks on Tuesday, he clearly wasn't listening to those he met last week
"No more excuses, Mr Woodward. We want the delivery of the strategies, policies and resources this serious issue requires." • A charity event in aid of suicide awareness will be held in the Pigeon Club in Iveagh Street on July 7. Tickets priced at £3.
