Health minister Ab Klink will set a target for lowering the number of suicides, he promised parliament during a debate on the subject on Wednesday evening.

He will also support the emergency telephone help-line 113 with a €700,00 subsidy, reports the Telegraaf.
The orthodox Christian ChristenUnie party, which is the junior partner in the coalition, wants a 5% annual reduction in the number of suicides but Klink said he cannot give a definite target until he knows more about the causes of suicide.
The number of people who commit suicide has already dropped, falling to 1,350 in 2007 from around 1,500 in preceding years.
A suggestion by Socialist MP Marianne Langkamp to restrict the sale of the common pain-killer Paracetamol, which can cause lasting liver damage if too many pills are taken during a suicide attempt, was rejected.
GroenLinks MP Tofik Dibi called it a ‘hysterical suggestion’, reports the Telegraaf.