Written answers

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Department of An Taoiseach

Suicide Incidence

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

62. To ask the Taoiseach the number of public servants, excluding healthcare workers, gardaí, Defence Forces personnel, primary school teachers and secondary-school teachers, who died by suicide in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020, while still in the employment of the State by the relevant Department and State agency. [19863/20]

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Information requested by the Deputy is not available.

All deaths that occur in the State must be registered within 3 months of the end of the relevant period. However, cases that are referred to the Coroner are frequently registered outside of this 3 month period as there are often long delays in finalising these cases. A death from Intentional self-harm is regarded as an unnatural death and these must be referred to the Coroner's Office for investigation and subsequent registration. There is therefore a time lag of 22 months from the end of the reference year to allow for the inclusion of as many such cases as possible.

As a result, data is currently only available to 2017 and please see below, the number of deaths by sex due to Intentional self-harm, for the years 2015 - 2017 inclusive. These figures are based on the date the death occurred and are regarded as final data. The final mortality data is published in the Vital Statistics Annual Report and the report for 2018 is scheduled to be disseminated on October 31st, 2020.

TotalMaleFemale

201542533590

201643735087

201738331073

Deaths that are registered outside the 22 month lag are included in an Appendix that is published as part of the Vital Statistics Annual Report. For example, there were 69 additional deaths from Intentional self-harm that were registered in 2017 and 58 (44 male and 14 female) occurred in 2015,

These additional deaths that were not registered until 2017 but which occurred in 2015, would therefore increase the original figure that was reported in the 2015 Vital Statistics Annual Report

The Revised figure for deaths due to Intentional self-harm for 2015 is as follows:

Total MaleFemale

2015483379104

Any late registered deaths due to Intentional self-harm that occurred in 2016 will be included in the 2018 report that will issue in October next. The number of actual deaths due to Intentional self-harm that occur in a particular year is therefore subject to revision as the revised 2015 figure of 483 could again increase at a later date (i.e. registered later than 2017).

It is not possible to provide data on the number of deaths from Intentional self-harm of certain Public Servants. Of the 425 suicide deaths included in the 2015 Annual Report, 39, or 9.2%, had no details of occupation stated on the death certificate. A further 67, or 15.8%, were not in employment at the time of death. Other examples of occupational descriptors were 'Typist', 'Clerical Worker' etc. and as the name and address of the company/organisation of the employer is not collected on the death certificate, then it is not possible to determine whether the deceased was employed in the public or private sector in many instances.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.