Official statistics still underestimate the true suicide rate, a study by a team of consultant psychiatrists has found.
They examined coroners' files for Counties Kildare and Mayo for the 1988-1994 period and compared them with official statistics.
They estimated that in Mayo, 112 people died by suicide in the period, 31 more than in the official figures, a 28 per cent discrepancy. In Kildare they estimated that 91 people killed themselves compared with an official figure of 81, a 16 per cent discrepancy. The study was conducted by Dr John F Connolly (Western Health Board); Dr Anne Cullen (WHB); Dr Dermot Walsh (Eastern Health Board); Dr Sheila McGauran (EHB); and Dr Darra Phelan (Southern Health Board). The results are published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
The official figures are compiled by the Central Statistics Office using two sources of information. One is a death certificate issued by a coroner giving details of the medical cause of death. The Coroners Act 1962 prevents a coroner from returning a suicide verdict, as suicide was, until 1993, a crime. Whether coroners can now return suicide verdicts is unclear and the question awaits clarification by the Oireachtas, the authors say.
The other source is a form submitted by the garda who investigated the death. This form includes a statement by the garda as to whether he or she believes the death was by suicide.
The authors say official figures are based on the criminal law concept that the suicide must be established beyond reasonable doubt. They argue that figures based on the civil law concept of the balance of probabilities give a more accurate measure of suicide.