Increase in reported suicides

The number of deaths by suicide increased by 42% in the first three months of this year.

The latest  figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), show the number of people who took their own lives in the first quarter was 106, a rate of 9.6 per 100,000 of population.

The number of suicides during the same period last year was 74, a rate of 6.8 per 100,000 of population.

The statistics also showed that four out of five suicides were male.

Suicide rates in Ireland had been reducing in recent years.

Last year, the number in the State who took their own lives fell from 460 to 424.

The CSO figures show there were 18,787 births registered in the first three months of 2009.

This compares with the recent high of 19,154 in the first quarter of 2008, and represented a decrease of just under 2%.

Fine Gael's spokesperson on mental health, Dan Neville, has said the alarming rise in suicides must see resources being invested in support services.

According to Fine Gael, it is essential to resource suicide prevention in times of recession as there is clear evidence that suicide is linked to unemployment, insecure employment, threat to or loss of home or financial disasters.

“The potential psychological impact of economic recession on public health is severe.  Job loss, job insecurity, job uncertainty, economic strain, loss of income, home repossession and restricted access to credit lead to a
reduction in mental wellbeing, an increase in mental health problems and mental ill-health, increased substance misuse, especially alcohol and drugs, and intimate relationship breakdown and divorce," said Mr Neville.

Mr Neville explained that job insecurity is associated with a 33% greater risk of common mental disorders, mainly anxiety and depression. People who are unemployed are two to three times more likely to die of suicide than those in employment, he said.

[Posted: Fri 30/10/2009]