Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Data on attendances at accident and emergency departments are collected each month nationally but it is not possible to determine what proportion of attendances at accident and emergency departments are due to assault.

Information on hospital in-patient activity is collected in the hospital in-patient inquiry, HIPE, system. This system records the number of hospital discharges in publicly funded acute hospitals and is not a patient-based system. Table 1 which follows presents data on the number of hospitalisations due to homicide and injury purposely inflicted by other persons by hospital in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Where fewer than ten cases were recorded in a hospital on average over the three years, this data has been aggregated into the "other hospital" category. Interpretation of this data should be approached with caution since reporting of external cause is not required so may not be complete.

Data for 2003 is not yet complete. In addition, the level of completeness may vary from hospital to hospital. No estimate on the final number of cases for 2003 can be inferred and therefore valid comparisons between hospitals and over time cannot be made based on this partial data.