2006 was the first full year of implementation of the Actions set out in Reach Out – A National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention, and also the first full year of operation for the National Office for Suicide Prevention.

This years report to the Oireachtas under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 provides us with the opportunity to comment on work undertaken at national and local level on the implementation of all 26 Action Areas set out in Reach Out. The partnerships at local and national level between statutory and voluntary organisations continue to be the building blocks for coordinated action to reduce the unacceptable level of self-harm and suicide in Ireland.

Provisional data provided by the Central Statistic Office indicates that there were 409 suicides in the Republic of Ireland in 2006. The estimated number of self-harm presentations for 2005 is 10,800 according to data from the National Suicide Research Foundation. Both are consistent with previous years figures and indicate that although there is much work being undertaken at national and local level it has not yet impacted on recorded figures.