Change to legal burden of proof for suicide to be considered

The Government should consider changing the legal burden of proof of suicide to a “balance of probabilities”, according to a new report.

The current standard of proof to return a verdict of suicide by a coroner is “beyond a reasonable doubt”, which campaigners have said means it is being underreported.

An analysis of coroners’ reporters under a burden of balance of probabilities suggests the recorded suicide rate could be up to 30% higher under such a threshold, a senior source in the Department of Health said.

In official figures from the Central Statistics Office, the standardised rate of suicide in Ireland has declined from 12.9 per 100,000 in 2000 to 8.6 in 2022.

The Government’s latest strategy to reduce suicide and self-harm, launched on Wednesday, sets an “ambitious” minimum target to reduce that rate to seven by 2035.

Due to an increasing population, the overall number of people dying by suicide has consistently remained at about 500 per year, as recorded under the current standard of proof.

The strategy says consideration should be given to revising the burden of proof for determining deaths by suicide and moving towards a balance of probabilities.

Such a move would require legislative changes.

Mary Butler, Minister of State for Mental Health, said she had been working on achieving “more accurate” reporting.

In Ireland and internationally, men are significantly more likely to die by suicide than women.

However, women have consistently higher rates of self-harm and non-fatal suicide attempts.

The decision as to whether someone has died by suicide is a legal determination made by coroners.

Consultation before the publication of the strategy identified the need for “significant” reform in the Coroner Service, with reports that the coroner’s court process itself was often described as “distressing”.

The strategy also recommends that the Department of Health, the Central Statistics Office, coroners and the HSE should continue to work together to develop a system to improve the timeliness of official suicide mortality data and establish a real-time surveillance system for deaths by probable suicide.

Overall, the Government said its strategy prioritises “compassionate, person-centred care” with a focus on strengthened crisis support in hospitals and communities, expanded community-based services, trauma-informed approaches, and improved access to support for those experiencing self-harm.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: “Every death by suicide is a tragedy that leaves a deep and lasting impact on families, communities and our society as a whole. While we have made important progress, even one death is one too many.

“This new strategy represents our collective commitment to build on that progress and to address the root causes of suicide and self-harm.

“It will require a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response, and I am confident that, working together, we can create a future where more people feel supported, valued and hopeful.”

Asked if he would accept there was a link between young people’s use of social media and suicide, Mr Martin said more detailed peer-reviewed research would be needed to make a determination but added it was his personal view that social media represents “one of the major public health challenges of our time”.

He told reporters at the strategy launch that there was now “unthinkable access” to harmful material, such as sexual-based violence online, as he criticised “algorithm frameworks” that keep people “hooked and addicted to social media”.

Mr Martin said: “It’s addictive and all addictions have huge health impacts.”

At the same press conference, Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran referenced his own mental health struggles, including a suicide attempt.

He told reporters a “number of things caught up with” him several years ago, and said: “I did try to commit suicide.”

He added: “I bottled it within myself for years and years, and the only people that knew were my wife, my parents, my mother-in-law, my father and my best friend.

“I carried that right through my career as I entered national politics.”

Mr Moran had previously disclosed his suicide attempt in a difficult period in his life following his brother’s death and financial pressures, as well as being associated with his anxieties around difficulties in reading and writing.

He said the most daunting part of revealing the information in a 2017 Late Late Show host interview was telling his two teenage sons beforehand.

“I had to tell them that their father nearly committed (suicide) and I had to explain to them on the way to Dublin what had happened, and what I had learned going forward.”

Mr Moran also told him then-minister Paschal Donohoe had rang him before the interview and told him: “Be yourself, say it as it is.”

The Minister of State said he had used the experience to reach out and help others.

– Samaritans can be contacted for free, day or night, 365 days a year, on 116 123, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.