Around 11,000 people hospitalised last year after attempt on life, say researchers

AROUND 50% more people attempted suicide in Limerick city, per capita, than in either Cork or Waterford last year, according to the National Suicide Research Foundation.

The foundation which launched its first annual report yesterday, is to meet officials from the Mid-Western Health Board to discuss its findings.

Colin Thurnhurst of the NSRF said that while differences in boundaries could have contributed to the high rates in Limerick city, he cautioned that "no amount of boundary differences can fully explain it".

According to NSRF deputy director Paul Corcoran, rates of attempted suicide are higher in deprived urban areas.

In 2001, 354 people in Limerick city attempted suicide compared with 229 in Co Limerick.

By comparison, 351 people tried to take their own lives in Cork city and 393 attempted suicide in Co Cork.

While more affluent Cork suburbs such as Blackrock and Bishopstown fall within the city areas and dilute the figures, Limerick's equivalents, such as Raheen, come within county borders. This difference could go some way towards explaining the higher attempted suicideparasuicide rates in Limerick, Mr Corcoran said.

A spokeswoman for the Mid-Western Health Board said she could not comment until the board had studied the report.

The NSRF annual report found that in the five health board areas for which figures were available for all of 2001, some 4,363 people were hospitalised after trying to take their lives last year.

As 47% of the population live in the five health board areas mid-western, north-eastern, south-eastern southern and midland the NSRF conservatively calculated that the toll for the entire country would be just over 9,000.

However, with data collected from the Dublin region for the first six months of this year showing a higher rate of attempted suicide, the foundation yesterday admitted that the national total could be closer to 11,000.

The report also identified a significant drop in the number of men attempting suicide in Cork city. Across the five health boards, women accounted for 56.5% of attempts, compared with 43.5% of men, although in urban areas men are usually as likely as women to harm themselves.

Launching the report, Minister of State at the Department of Health, Tim O'Malley, paid tribute to the work of the NSRF and said the Government was investing 1.1 million in suicide prevention and research projects this year.

Suicide figures

* 448 people died by suicide in 2001 compared to 413 in 2000.

* Almost 11,000 Irish people are believed to attempt suicide every year.

* Approximately 50% more people attempt suicide in Limerick than in Cork or Waterford.