SINGER Sinead O’Connor has set up an online petition to assess how many people in Ireland are feeling suicidal.
She hopes to gather enough names to pass on to the Minister for Health in a bid to increase funding for suicide prevention services throughout the country.
Following her article in the Irish Sun on Sunday, Sinead, 45, said: “If we don’t know who’s out there feeling vulnerable, we can’t help. There’s no money in the country for a state census on the matter so we must do it this way.”
The mum of four is calling on people all over the country to visit her website sineadoconnor.comand follow her link to the petition.
Last December, the Irish Sun revealed Sinead had attempted to take her own life in an overdose.
She now wants to use that experience to help others who find themselves in similar situations.
She said: “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
“When you get to the other side you find a whole new set of problems. The worst of which will be the pain you will feel when you see the pain of your loved ones...
“You are loved. Even if you sometimes feel you aren’t. We all have someone whose world would be shattered by the loss of us to suicide.”
She said of her survey: “The ultimate aim is not only to have these figures, but to assess the need for services to be severely stepped up.”