SUICIDE IS one of the three leading causes of death worldwide for people between 15 and 45 years of age, according to the World Health Organisation. Ireland is little different. Last year, 527 deaths by suicide were recorded and most were males in that same age group. Today is World Suicide Prevention day and to mark the occasion, an international conference takes place in Dublin where delegates will discuss the link between suicide and unemployment. Studies indicate that those out of work for long periods have higher rates of sickness, both physical and psychological, than those in employment. And poor health, when allied to the loss of self-esteem that long-term unemployment brings, places vulnerable individuals at greater risk of death by suicide.
Since 2007, the Irish unemployment rate has more than tripled. And last year saw a 24 per cent rise in the annual suicide rate. The dramatic increase in the latter may partly reflect a change in methodology used by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in recording deaths. Nevertheless, as Prof Kevin Malone told an Oireachtas committee this week, the national suicide rate is likely to be much higher than the official figures state. For the CSO data fails to take account of undetermined deaths where, in one-fifth of cases, a suicide note was found.
Suicide in Ireland – as indeed elsewhere – is predominantly a male issue. Men are four times more likely to take their own lives than women. And this week Samaritans Ireland, in launching a campaign to reduce the number of male suicides in the vulnerable age groups, warned that the severity of the recession is taking a heavy toll on men; in particular on those who have lost their job, have family commitments and are beset by personal stresses and financial difficulties, not least arrears on their mortgage payments. The Samaritans in operating their helpline service have noted that some callers with suicidal feelings are reluctant to seek medical attention because of the high cost of visits to GPs.
Last year also saw a sharp rise in the male suicide rate in the farming sector where 33 men died. As an occupational group, three times as many farmers took their own life as those in professions such as accountancy, engineering or law. Other countries, Scotland and Australia, have also recorded high rates of rural suicide. The contributory factors have been broadly similar: the speed of change in agriculture, the decline in farming numbers and a growing sense of social isolation as family involvement in farming declines, leaving those who remain feeling increasingly marginalised.
Suicidal behaviour is now a major public health issue in Ireland and presents a challenge to government departments and agencies, and to voluntary organisations. The response requires greater investment in services, ensuring assistance is available to those with suicidal feelings and that they are not inhibited from seeking it. There must be raised public awareness too of the reality of “suicide in a changing Ireland” – to borrow the title of today’s conference. That means talking about it more often and more openly.