Member's statement: World Suicide Prevention Day
Member's statement by Mr Mark Durkan on .
- MLA
- Mr Mark Durkan
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 10 September 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- World Suicide Prevention Day
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4517241
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I also stand to mark World Suicide Prevention Day and to express solidarity with all the families and communities scarred by the scourge of suicide. It has been 13 years — it is hard to believe that it has been that long — since the suicide of my beautiful sister Gay. My family still bears the scars — I will never forget the kindness that you showed me at that time, Mr Speaker — and those scars never heal. So many families — too many families — have similar stories and share similar pain. They, like us, still lie awake at night, torturing themselves trying to answer questions that they will never be able to answer. It is not something that you ever get over; it is just something that you go through. I commend the courage of so many suffering families who channel their grief into helping others to navigate the minefield of loss through suicide. I mention in particular the family of young Jack Edgar, who was lost to suicide in December 2022. Today, his father, Tony, and other family and friends will finish the last leg of a huge run from Derry to the Aviva stadium in Dublin, where Ireland play Greece tonight, to raise awareness and help shatter the stigma of suicide. Their courage and commitment to that cause is not just a fitting tribute to their beautiful son: it will help to promote awareness, provoke conversations and even save lives. I commend the work of so many of our charities, and I implore this place, as an Assembly, and the Executive to do more. We can all do more. The Department of Health can do more, the Executive should do more, but we all, as elected representatives, have a duty to do what we can to promote awareness of the issue, to challenge stigma and to work together to promote good mental health and well-being.
320 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.38 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.88 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.10 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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