10,800 cases of self-harm recorded by hospitals in 2005
Efforts to tackle suicide and self-harm are being discussed in Dublin today at the second annual forum arranged by the HSE's National Office of Suicide Prevention.
The latest figures on self-harm, which are being launched at the meeting, show that hospitals dealt with 10,800 such cases in 2005.
This figure for the total number of hospital visits is down on previous years and is the lowest since national recording began four years ago, but the number of people carrying out self-harm remains roughly the same.
They also show that the rate of deliberate self-harm among women is 37% higher than that among men, with almost half of all those treated in hospital under the age of 30.
Three quarters of all self-harm cases involve drug overdoses, while one-fifth involve self-cutting.
