The number of deaths recorded from suicide in the State in 2019 was down on the previous year’s figures, reducing from 540 to 524 according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Despite the decrease, 2019’s figures remained above that of 2017, when 510 such deaths were noted, and 2015 which saw 497.

The data shows the rate of suicide among males increased by 4.6 per cent between 2015 (390 deaths) and 2019 (408 deaths), while female suicides rose by 8.4 per cent, from 107 to 116 in the same period.

The 116 deaths by suicide among females in 2019 represented a 17.7 per cent decline on 2018’s figures, however the CSO noted that 2018 had recorded the highest number of female deaths from self-harm (141) since its records began in 1950.

Compared to other European countries, Ireland’s standardised suicide rate in 2017 was 11.0 per 100,000 people, above the EU member state average of 10.1.