Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2005
177 Mr. Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, further to Parliamentary Question No. 339 of 18 May 2004, the reason for the difference between the figure of 451 suicides for 2002 and the figure of 478 as published by the CSO on 31 January 2005. [3387/05]
View answerThe source for all official figures on mortality, including suicide, is the Central Statistics Office, as published in its annual and quarterly reports on vital statistics. The quarterly reports, which contain provisional data as they are classified by year of registration, are generally published within five months of the end of the relevant quarter. The annual reports, which give a further breakdown in respect of births and deaths which occur in a given year, are published within approximately two years.
With regard to 2002, the Central Statistics Office published the fourth quarter and yearly summary report on vital statistics in April 2003. This report showed the number of deaths from suicide which were registered in 2002 as 451. The annual report on vital statistics, released on 31 January 2005, showed the number of deaths from suicide which occurred in 2002 as 478. In the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 339 of 18 May 2004, a footnote stated that figures for 2002 were provisional based on year of registration.
