The national office responsible for tackling suicide will receive just half the funding it needs to implement a suicide prevention strategy which the Government has described as an "urgent priority".
The National Office for Suicide Prevention will receive just €4.5 million in funding this year, even though it needs almost €8 million for developing prevention services outlined in a Government-endorsed strategy.
The Reach Out strategy seeks to reduce the number of people who die by suicide by 10 per cent by 2010. The programme for government states that this strategy will be implemented as a "matter of urgency".
A total of just over 400 people died by suicide in Ireland last year, significantly more than the total of lives lost on Irish roads.
The effect of the limited funding is likely to be a scaled-down national advertising campaign on positive mental health and less funds for developing prevention services around the country.
At a public meeting last year, the head of the National Office for Suicide Prevention told delegates that a total of at least €7.8 million was needed annually in order to implement the first phase of the Reach Out strategy.
Fine Gael's spokesman with responsibility for mental health Dan Neville said yesterday that lives could be lost as a result of the funding shortage.
The party has pledged to increase the budget of the National Office for Suicide Prevention to €20 million if it is in government.
Yesterday the Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed that the office's budget will be €4.5 million, following a report in the Irish Examiner. In a statement, it said the national office will continue to roll out suicide prevention initiatives and activities this year.
"Since the establishment of the office in 2005, it has carried out a number of initiatives aimed at reducing rates of suicide in Ireland, improving awareness and educating relevant people how best to deal with this important matter," the HSE said.
