Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has apologised for remarks in which he said he did not know how people who moaned about the economy did not "commit suicide".
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
Mr Ahern made the comments off-script during an address to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) biennial conference in Bundoran this morning.
"Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don't know how people who engage in that don't commit suicide because frankly the only thing that motivates me is being able to actively change something," Mr Ahern said.
The Taoiseach later apologised for the remarks saying it was the "wrong use of words" and that he works closely with suicide prevention groups.
"That was a bad choice of words if I said it that way," he said.
"I'm very involved with the suicide action groups, apologies if I said it that way. I was just using it as an example of people who are always against things."
Mr Ahern's comments were criticised by Fine Gael TD and deputy health spokesman Dan Neville, who is also president of the Irish Association of Suicidology.
Mr Neville said the Taoiseach's remarks on suicide showed an "appallingly poor" understanding of the issue at the highest level in the country.
"While I have heard the Taoiseach's apology, I believe that he is still not conscious of the impact of his remarks," Mr Neville said.
"It is a dismal indicator of the mindset at the highest level in the country that the Taoiseach can so casually make a remark like this about suicide. By doing so he fails to understand the message which is given to the many people who have experienced suicidal tendencies and is unconscious of the deep hurt that people who are bereaved by suicide experience when this issue is used in such a careless fashion."
Mr Neville added: "Of all the issues which are considered politically sensitive, no other seems to so easily roll off the tongue of senior Government figures without due thought for the consequences."
Voluntary group Aware, which supports people suffering from depression, described the Taoiseach's remarks as regrettable. "His remarks are stigmatising to those who have died by suicide, and to their families," a spokesman for the group said. "The comments illustrate a lack of real awareness of the many factors which lead to suicide: those who die in this way should never be equated to 'cribbers' or 'moaners', nor should it be suggested that they have somehow chosen to sit on the sidelines rather than actively change."
John Saunders of the Action on Suicide alliance, which represents 11 organisations involved in suicide awareness and prevention, also condemned the Taoiseach's remarks.
"I was quite astonished that the leader of the country and the Government could make such a remark," he said.
Mr Saunders said the almost "throw-away" nature of Mr Ahern's remark during his speech indicated the extent to which the issue was not taken seriously.
He said many survivors and family members touched by such acts were left with huge feelings of guilt following the death of a loved one by suicide.
Additional reporting: PA