Suicide rate in State higher than previously calculated

[TheBear]

From The Irish Times:

• Suicide figures for the Republic are significantly higher than previously calculated, a leading suicide expert has said. And the first scientific evidence to support the clustering of suicides here has also emerged.
  
  Kevin Malone, professor of psychiatry at University College Dublin (UCD) and St Vincent's University Hospital, will present new research at an international meeting on youth suicide in Dublin next week.
  
  It shows that when internationally accepted reporting norms are applied to death statistics, the number of annual suicides is closer to 600 than the currently accepted figure of about 500.
  
  It is research practice in most countries to include deaths classified as undetermined with those classified as suicide when calculating death rates. This is because in some instances a coroner may, for legal reasons, label a death as "undetermined", even when, for example, a person has died by self-poisoning.
  
  When Prof Malone examined data for the five-year period 2000-2004, he found there were 2,876 deaths by suicide. This equates to an average of 575 deaths from suicide each year.
  
  These latest figures show suicide rates in the State have risen from nine per 100,000 people in the five-year period 1980- 1984, to 15 per 100,000 in the five years 2000-2004.
  
  "If we are really serious about understanding suicide in Ireland, we have to do all we can to know the magnitude of the problem," Prof Malone told The Irish Times. "Other countries include 'undetermined deaths' in their suicide rates for research purposes, reflecting the sum of definite and probable suicide deaths, and so should we."

There is further information on the research in the article. The identification of clustering is particularly worrying.

Rather than simply complaining about inaction on the part of the government, what practical and implementable steps can the propose to the government to help reduce the suicide rate in this country?

[Eirenua]

The sad, annoying and frustrating thing is that suicides can be prevented. This has been proven in Midleton, which was once the suicide capital of the world:
http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 59086.html

Tony Buckly is a good friend whose two sons took their own lives. The man is on the verge of a nervous breakdown from stress and frustration at the morons in Dail Eireann (all parties are included in this). Funding was promised but has not arrived. The government are spending millions (and rightly so) on trying to stop the slaughter on our roads. Yet more people die by their own hand than are killed on Irish roads. Lives can be saved but the things that were elected to represent us are doing nothing to help prevent suicides only talk sh**e. Hang your heads in shame you useless shower of plebs.

[constitutionus]

im not surprised by this. the gardai have been saying for years that a significant number of road fatalities that are put down as accidents looked alot like suicide as they happened on good roads with no skid marks in good weather conditions yet statistically their put in the road death figures.

i honeslty dont know what the governemt can do about this because i think its actually government socio-economicl policy thats led to the increase in suicide.
people always harp on about mental illness when you bring up the subject but the fact is its not the only cause of suicide. stress is a major factor in this too and everything from the leaving cert onwards just piles that on. humanity need security to operate normally yet we're now a country with 40yr mortgages being paid by people who dont know if theyll have a job in 2 years. whether or not their companies make a profit. half the odds of a game of Russian roulette of their marriages being a success and if your male, the largest demographic of suicides, the wonderfull vista of the family law courts ahead of you and the subsequent destitution it will bestow.

our entire country is now based on insecurity. thats wonderful for the economy because it keeps things fluid but its a disaster for people. hell despite all the stories in the media to the contrary the latest CSO figures are showing that were not having kids. as a people were dying and thats why the government are banging on about mandatory pensions because we're not replacing ourselves. you have to ask what the hell is wrong with a country thats as rich as this and yet more people are buying porche's than are having kids

someday someone will do a study to see the effects of the celtic tiger on the irish people being reduced to economic cogs instead of human beings and i reckon it'll be damning