Vol. 415 No. 8
74 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the research being carried out into the fact of the male suicide rate being over treble that of the female rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Over the ten year period 1981-1990 the ratio, calculated for each year, of reported male suicides to those of females varied from 2.41 to 3.61.
Over this ten year period there were 2,637 reported suicides (1,962 male; 675 female) giving an average ratio over the period of reported male suicides to those of females of 2.91.
However I will circulate in the Official Report a table which compares the ratio of reported male suicides to those of females in a number of countries and which shows that this pattern is not untypical.
Research on suicide in this country has tended to concentrate on suicide rates and on the accuracy of reporting systems. While publicly funded research in this area is primarily a matter for the Health Research Board, I do not think that research into a feature of suicides in Ireland which is not uncommon on the basis of international comparisons could be identified as a priority.
|
Country |
Ratio of reported male suicides to those of females |
|
Denmark (1988) |
1.71 |
|
France (1988) |
2.45 |
|
Federal Republic of Germany (1989) |
2.18 |
|
Greece (1987) |
2.60 |
|
Ireland (1988) |
2.75 |
|
Italy (1988) |
2.61 |
|
Luxembourg (1989) |
2.89 |
|
Netherlands (1988) |
1.73 |
|
Portugal (1989) |
2.77 |
|
Spain (1986) |
2.82 |
|
England and Wales (1989) |
2.91 |
|
Northern Ireland (1989) |
3.18 |
|
Scotland (1989) |
2.58 |
