THERE HAS BEEN a reduction in the number of people who present to Irish hospitals with self-harm related injuries, a review has found. 

The National Suicide Research Foundation reported that in 2024 there were a total of 12,621 self-harm presentations in hospitals by 9,436 individuals. 

The highest self-harm rate continues to be among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19, but the rate in this cohort has continued to decrease year-on-year since 2021.

For men, those aged 25-29 had the highest rate of self-harm hospital presentations.

This represents a decrease of 5% overall, and the rate 19% lower than the peak rate the foundation recorded in 2010. 

This is the second year in a row that a decrease has been reported, and the decrease among women is larger, with a 7% fall in self-harm related presentations by females. 

Intentional drug overdose was the most common method of self-harm, as it was involved in more than three in five self-harm presentations. 

One third of the self-harm patients who presented to hospitals in 2024 were currently attending mental health services. In a further 2% of presentations, the patient had been previously referred and was awaiting an appointment with mental health services. 

In 3% of cases patients were attending counselling or addiction services, and in 2% of cases patients were engaged with homelessness services.

Speaking at the launch event for the review today, Professor Elena Arensman said that there is, however, an increase in self-harm among young people. 

“In children and young adolescents, there is a fast, speeding increase of self harm, including children under the age of 12.

“That wasn’t very much highlighted in the report, but obviously we have access to that data and that that is a very worrying trend. It’s not unique to Ireland, because with colleagues internationally, we see a similar trend in the UK, in the Netherlands and also in Australia,” she said. 

Arensman said that we need a tailored approach in services towards young children. 

“There may be different approaches for people who for children who present with suicidal ideation or with the first act of self harm, a child who has already presented with three acts of self harm may require very intensive specialist treatment. So the whole upscaling of the CAHM service is absolutely key,” she said.

Dr Mary Joyce, the Manager of the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland said that though there was speculation that self-harm rates may increase during and after the pandemic, these findings are “reassuring”. 

The female rate has been reducing since 2021 with an overall decrease of 13% across the three-year timeframe. Given that female self-harm rates are typically higher than rates for men, this continual decrease in recent years is reassuring,” Joyce continued. 

Joyce said that the high rate among teenage girls aged between 15 to 19 means that there is a need to prioritise mental health supports and targeted interventions for young people and their parents. 

The foundation said that these findings show there is a need for ongoing monitoring to assess the impact of public health emergencies like Covid-19, and also that there is a need for safety messaging from authorities on the use of over-the-counter medications.

Dr Paul Corcoran, Head of Research at the National Suicide Research Foundation, said that the report’s findings are important in the context of the national suicide reduction strategy. 

“A reduced rate of hospital presenting self-harm was one of the two primary goals of
Connecting for Life and the findings in this Report suggest that this was achieved.

“The rate in 2014, the year before ‘Connecting for life’ was 200 per 100,000 whereas we estimate that the rate in 2024 was 10% lower at 181 per 100,000,” he said.

If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, you can reach out for support through the following helplines:

• Samaritans: Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
• Pieta: Call 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444
• Teenline: Call 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
• Childline: Call 1800 66 66 66 (for all under 18s)