Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 1 Mar 2000

Vol. 515 No. 4

Written Answers. - Suicide Incidence.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

134 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on a comparative study of suicides in Counties Mayo and Kildare over a seven year period which found a statistically significant difference in the choice of suicide methods between the counties where a quarter of the male victims in County Kildare used firearms; and his views on whether this issue identified in the report requires a more indepth investigation. [6449/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The study referred to by the Deputy, A Comparison of Suicide in Two Irish Counties by John Connolly, Anne Cullen, Dermot Walsh, Sheila McGauran and Darra Phelan, was published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine in December 1999. It set out to determine to what extent official suicide rates in counties Kildare and Mayo underestimated the rates as clinically determined, and to examine and compare the association between the socio-demographic characteristics of the two Irish counties and trends in the suicide rates.

The results of the study showed that neither county presented a significant change in suicide mortality over time from 1988 to 1994. It found that Kildare males were more likely to choose hanging or shooting as a method of suicide than their counterparts in Mayo. The authors pointed to the increased availability of firearms in Kildare, due to the presence of a large military establishment, as to the possible reason for this choice and means of committing suicide. It also showed that in Mayo the commonest method of suicide for both sexes was drowning, reflecting tradition and access to means. Mayo is a coastal county with many rivers and lakes. The study concluded that detailed local research was needed before implementing suicide prevention programmes due to the many demographic differences and differences in traditions and choice of method of suicide that existed between counties.

The use of firearms in suicides was considered by the national task force on suicide, which noted in its report that firearms account for a relatively small percentage of suicides in the country as a whole. The task force recommended that all applications for firearms licences be carefully scrutinised and I understand that this issue is being addressed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Commenting on their findings regarding County Kildare, the authors of this study noted that the availability of legally held firearms is very strictly controlled in Ireland and they took the view that further restriction was unlikely to have any impact on the suicide rates.

Since the publication of the final report of the National Task Force on Suicide in 1998, a national suicide prevention/reduction strategy has commenced with a partnership approach being adopted between statutory and non-statutory services. Central to the strategy has been the establishment of a suicide research group by the health boards to conduct research and advise health boards on measures to prevent and reduce suicide and attempted suicide. Health boards have also appointed resource officers and have established multi-disciplinary working groups to examine the implementation of the recommendations of the report.