Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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489. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons that have died by suicide while in the care of State-funded psychiatric hospitals or mental health facilities over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20538/16]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Any deaths that occur within approved centres such as Health Service Executive hospitals and private hospitals are recorded, and approved centres are required to notify the Mental Health Commission of the death of any resident. Along with the overall number of deaths reported, which are published in the Mental Health Commission annual reports, the number of sudden and unexplained deaths is also noted. A ‘sudden and unexplained death’ refers to an unexpected death that may have been a suicide or that has occurred in suspicious circumstances as a result of violence or misadventure on the part of others or from any cause other than natural illness or disease. The Mental Health Commission does not report on how many of the sudden and unexplained deaths reported were due to suicide.