Member's statement: Mental Health: Suicide

Member's statement by Mr Colm Gildernew on 14 October 2025.

MLA: Mr Colm Gildernew
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 14 October 2025
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Mental Health: Suicide
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5180517

Text

I rise to raise the issue of mental health, particularly suicide. I am conscious of the fact that we are just coming out of September, a month in which there is a particular focus on suicide. However, throughout the month of September, there has been what I call a tragic wave of suicides across the south Tyrone area. It has impacted on a range of people — young and old; men and women; urban and rural — and has been devastating for each and every one of the families involved. I have been asked by some of the families to raise the issue, and we are being asked by families to do more on the issue in general. It is disappointing to hear of a review being carried out to the mental health strategy, and an indication that that strategy is going to be pared back. We need to be spending more, not less, on mental health. We have to acknowledge the pain and suffering that the loss of each individual in these circumstances has on family, sets of friends, sporting clubs or whatever.
I also acknowledge the groups in the south Tyrone area that are working so hard to try to reach out to people and to provide a service, sometimes in the absence of statutory services and sometimes alongside them. Groups such as the Niamh Louise Foundation and MensReach are doing everything that they can in the community and voluntary sector. Many clubs, societies and organisations are also doing what they can to try to raise awareness of the issue and to try to help people at a time of need. I commend and acknowledge the work of each and every one of those groups. I have made a commitment that I will work with everyone in the south Tyrone area to try to improve the capacity, delivery of services and outreach to people who are struggling. Finally, I say this directly to people: please reach out and speak to someone if you feel that you are at risk of harming yourself. Please speak to someone in your circle, someone in the groups that I have mentioned or someone in a sports club. The impact on people is just too great, and I urge all of us to do all that we can in the time ahead to address the issue of suicide.

395 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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).
Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.82).
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

Probability that each statement is true of this text (0 = no, 1 = yes). A criterion counts as met at 0.60 or above.
Question	Probability	Met?
Identity framing	0.03	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	0.82	Yes
Overall judgement	0.03	At or below not-flagging threshold

Context and attribution (stance)
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 area (top five)
Subject	Probability
Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits	0.90
No identity-related subject	0.05
Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups	0.04
Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues	0.01
Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials	0.00

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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