Member's statement: Lives Lost to Suicide
Member's statement by Miss Órlaithí Flynn on .
- MLA
- Miss Órlaithí Flynn
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 9 December 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Lives Lost to Suicide
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5295508
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Today, I rise with a very heavy heart. This morning, my thoughts are with families across the island who are grieving someone who they have lost to suicide. The latest NISRA figures on suicide are deeply troubling. They show that 290 deaths by suicide were registered in 2024. That figure is up from 221 in the previous year. To those who have lost someone to suicide, I express how sorry I am for what you have been through and for what you are still going through. I know that no statistic can ever capture the person whom you miss and you have lost. The figures are based on the year that the deaths are registered, and delays in inquests can sometimes mean that some of the deaths that have been recorded happened in earlier years. While that explanation is important, it does not take away from the reality that too many lives are being lost in that way year after year. Men remain much more likely to die by suicide, especially younger and middle-aged men. People living in our most deprived communities also face higher risk. Older people, often living alone, are particularly vulnerable, and we have seen that the rise in the latest NISRA statistics for 2024 has impacted more on our older population. We are now moving into winter and towards Christmas. On the surface, it is a time of joy, lights and music, but, for many people, it is the darkest, loneliest, most pressurised time of the year. The cost of heating your home, the pressure to spend money that you do not have, empty chairs at a table that cannot be filled and anniversaries of loved ones who we have lost all sit in stark contrast to the positivity that we see on our screens and on our streets. At a time when everywhere seems bright, many people feel completely in the dark. So, I ask Members and the wider public for something very simple over the weeks ahead: please be kind in the Chamber, online and in our communities. We rarely know what the person in front of us is dealing with or what they are carrying, and a harsh word can push someone further down. A small act of kindness can make it easier for them to hold on. For anyone who is listening and might be finding it hard, please know that you can reach out to the Samaritans and to Lifeline. We cannot undo the loss that so many families have already experienced, but we can listen to them, learn from what they are telling us and try to do more to stop others going through that pain.
446 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 (0.99).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- 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 | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.25 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.80 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.15 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.04 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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