Suicide rates ‘three times higher’ in North’s most deprived areas

Suicide rates in the North are three times higher in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived, a new report has found.

The report, by the Samaritans, found that the self-harm rate in the North is 64 per cent higher than in the Republic, with the largest disparity among men, where rates are 82.9 per cent higher​.

It also found that in 2021/22, there were 13,803 emergency department presentations for self-harm – higher than the 12,661 in the same time period in Ireland, despite the Republic’s much larger population.

Meanwhile, it was found that 18 per cent of the population in Northern Ireland lives in poverty, with child poverty rates described as particularly high.

The charity has emphasised the situation is not just a health issue, but also pertains to poverty, government policy issues and represents “systemic failure”.

The new policy research report, Lost Futures: Poverty, Inequality and Suicidality in Northern Ireland, makes a series of…

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