For every person who dies from suicide in Ireland each year, an estimated 12 people try to take their own lives, researchers warned yesterday.
Some 504 people died from suicide last year - a 15 per cent rise on 1997 and the highest annual total ever, but the National Suicide Research Foundation believes this is just the tip of the iceberg, as many more people try to take their lives.
The foundation will launch a five-year project next month to investigate the extent of attempted suicides in Ireland. Its research in the Southern and Mid-Western Health Board areas since 1995 has identified more than 5,000 attempted suicides, suggesting there were 12 attempts for every suicide.
Ireland's attempted suicide rate is out of step with other European countries. "Almost half of our cases are under 25, compared to just 30 per cent in European centres," the foundation's deputy director, Mr Paul Corcoran, said.
Attempted suicide is more common among women in some European countries but in Ireland it is evenly divided between men and women. This was surprising considering that in Ireland male suicides outnumber women by five to one, Mr Corcoran said.
From a small sample of people who attempted suicide, the foundation found about half were suffering from a psychiatric illness. This compared to about three-quarters of those who died of suicide.
The five-year project will cost £1 million to run. This week's Budget included a £200,000 grant for the first year's operation.
The project will involve gathering data from hospitals and analysing it.
New research by a group of consultant psychiatrists suggests the true level of suicide in Ireland may be considerably higher than the official figures indicate.
A review of coroners' files in Mayo and Kildare found the rate of suicide in the former could be 28 per cent greater than the Central Statistics Office figure, while the actual rate in the latter could be 16 per cent greater.
The results are published in the current edition of the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.