APG on Suicide Prevention launches Inquiry Report into Cross-Departmental Funding for Suicide Prevention

A Shared Responsibility: Inquiry into Cross-Departmental Funding for Suicide Prevention examines whether current funding, leadership and accountability arrangements reflect the reality that the factors which can increase suicide risk extend far beyond health services.

The Inquiry comes at a time when 290 suicide deaths were registered in Northern Ireland in 2024.

A shared responsibility across government

The Inquiry heard from 52 organisations and individuals, alongside oral evidence from organisations working across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

The evidence highlighted the important role played by community and voluntary organisations in suicide prevention, while also identifying challenges around funding, coordination and accountability.

A central finding of the Inquiry is that many of the factors associated with suicide risk — including poverty, housing, education, employment, trauma and social isolation — are influenced by decisions taken across government. The APG therefore argues that responsibility for preventing suicide, and investment in prevention, should also be shared across government.

What is the Inquiry recommending?

The report's principal recommendation is the establishment of a ring-fenced Cross-Departmental Suicide Prevention Fund.

Under the proposal, the Department of Health would retain strategic leadership, while relevant Executive Departments would make agreed contributions to the fund and share responsibility for prevention and delivery.

The Inquiry also recommends stronger cross-government oversight, including for the Executive Working Group on Wellbeing, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to meet at least quarterly to coordinate action, monitor progress and strengthen accountability.

The report concludes that effective suicide prevention requires action much earlier than the point at which someone reaches crisis. Investment in prevention has the potential to benefit individuals, families and communities, while also reducing pressures across a range of public services.

Launching the report at Parliament Buildings

The report was formally launched at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, on 22 September 2026, bringing together MLAs, community and voluntary organisations, people with lived experience and others working in suicide prevention.

The event included contributions from people with lived experience, a community and voluntary sector response, and a musical reflection from a community choir of women with lived experience of mental health challenges.

Samaritans Northern Ireland provides the Secretariat to the APG on Suicide Prevention and supported the APG throughout the Inquiry, including coordinating the call for evidence, oral evidence sessions and development of the report.

Read the full APG on Suicide Prevention Inquiry into Cross-Departmental Funding for Suicide Prevention – A Shared Responsibility below.