The Mental Health Champion’s report has independently confirmed that Northern Ireland’s mental health system is under sustained pressure, with suicide prevention funding at just 16 per cent of what is required
Prof. Siobhan O’Neill, Mental Health Champion
A new report from the Mental Health Champion has confirmed that Northern Ireland’s mental health system is facing sustained strain, following the loss of 290 lives to suicide, and has reinforced urgent calls for action on funding, leadership and delivery.
PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity launched the “Too Many Lives Lost” campaign in November 2025 in response to the latest NISRA statistics.
Since its launch, the campaign, which has been backed by Foyle Search and Rescue, Rural Support NI, SOS Bus NI, TAMHI and North West Mountain Rescue Team, has consistently highlighted the gulf between policy pledges and the harsh reality confronting frontline services.
Five years into the ten-year Mental Health Strategy, only 16 per cent of the required funding has been delivered, leaving an ever-widening chasm between commitment and reality.
Campaigners argue that while suicide prevention is frequently described as an Executive-wide issue, this must not result in a lack of accountability.
“Suicide prevention is an Executive-wide issue, but that cannot become an excuse for spreading responsibility so widely that no one is accountable. We do not need dilution across multiple departments and budgets. We need clear leadership from one Ministerwho can be held accountable for delivery.”
Renée Quinn, CEO of PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity, said: “Since November, we have been raising the alarm following the loss of 290 lives. This report confirms what we are seeing every day, services are under pressure, demand is rising, and the system is not keeping pace with need.
“The gap between what has been promised and what is being delivered continues to grow. The issue is no longer what needs to be done, it is whether there is the political will to act.
“Since November, following the confirmation of 290 lives registered as lost to suicide, sustained action has been taken to ensure this crisis cannot be ignored.
“We launched a public petition campaign at Stormont, supported by media coverage and public engagement. Written to all 90 MLAs outlining the funding gap and human cost (limited responses received). Directly engaged with the First Minister, deputy First Minister and Minister of Health, calling for urgent leadership and accountability. Met several MLAs. Engaged with the Chair of the All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention, challenging delay and direction of process. Issued multiple press statements and joint communications highlighting service pressures and funding failure. Brought over 7,000 public voices to Stormont, demonstrating clear public demand for action and taken the campaign across Northern Ireland to Enniskillen, Derry and Belfast, ensuring this message is heard across Northern Ireland.
“This shows the issue has been clearly raised at every level. The evidence has been repeatedly presented, and the public has clearly spoken. Nothing about this crisis is unknown, the issue is not awareness, it is action.”
Campaign organisers maintain that fundamental problems persist.
“We have raised this at every level. We have presented the evidence repeatedly. Now this report confirms the same conclusions. At this point, the barrier is not in lack of understanding, the blockage is prioritisation by the Executive.”
Campaigners also say the report fundamentally changes the context: “It removes any doubt. This is no longer a campaign claim, a sector concern, or a matter of opinion. This is now independently confirmed.”
They also challenged the need for further inquiry: “We do not need more inquiry. We are five years into a ten-year strategy. The evidence exists. The need is known. The consequences are visible. Further process at this stage is not scrutiny, it is delay.
“We know when Ministers decide something is a priority, funding is found. We have seen that repeatedly. The issue is not availability, it is prioritisation.”
Campaigners have also issued a stark warning that without proper funding, the strategy cannot be implemented: “A strategy without funding is not delivery, it is a promise that cannot be kept. Public time, expertise, and resources have already been spent developing this strategy. Leaving it unfunded turns that work into wasted effort and leaves communities without the support they were promised. Creating a strategy without funding to deliver it does not save lives.”
The campaign is calling for full and immediate funding of the Mental Health Strategy; clear, enforceable timelines for delivery; urgent investment in community suicide crisis services; and clear Executive prioritisation and Ministerial accountability for delivery
As suicide continues to devastate communities throughout Northern Ireland, campaigners argue the moment for mere words has long since passed.
“When independent reports, frontline services, and communities all point to the same conclusion, delay is no longer neutral; it is a risk factor, and it costs lives. When 290 lives have been lost, delay is no longer acceptable.”
Campaigners stressed that attention must now turn from talk to tangible action: “What are Ministers going to do and when? If the release of 290 suicide deaths in November did not provoke ministerial action, what will?
“At this point, failure to act is a choice. There can be no more delay, no more deflection, and no more process used as cover for inaction.”
To view their petition calling for the NI Executive to fully fund the mental health strategy without delay, click here.
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