In March 2025, the National Suicide Research Foundation published the 2022–2023 National Self-Harm Registry Ireland annual report.1 The report contains information relating to every recorded presentation of deliberate self-harm to acute hospital emergency departments in Ireland in 2022 and 2023, as well as details of complete national coverage of cases treated. All individuals who were alive on admission to hospital following deliberate self-harm were included, along with the methods of deliberate self-harm that were used. Accidental overdoses of medication, street drugs, or alcohol were not included.

Rates of self-harm

In 2022, National Self-Harm Registry Ireland estimated that there were a total of 12,705
self-harm presentations made by 9,748 individuals. In 2023, it estimated that there were a total of 12,792 presentations made by 9,786 individuals that year. The age-standardised rate of individuals presenting to hospital in the Republic of Ireland following self-harm in 2022 was 197 per 100,000 population and in 2023 was 191 per 100,000 population (Figure 1). These rates are similar to the rate recorded in 2021 and are 12% lower than the peak rate recorded by the Registry in 2010 (223 per 100,000 population).

In 2022 and 2023, respectively, the national male rate of self-harm was 168 per 100,000 population in 2022 and 167 per 100,000 in 2023, which was 5% higher than the rate in 2021. The female rate was 227 per 100,000 in 2022 and 217 per 100,000 in 2023, marking a 6% reduction in the female self-harm rate since 2021. With regard to age, the peak rate for men in both 2022 and 2023 was among 20–24-year-olds, at approximately 400 per 100,000. The peak rate for women was in the 15–19-year-old age group, at 850 per 100,000 in 2022 and 725 per 100,000 in 2023.

Figure 1: Person-based rate of deliberate self-harm from 2013 to 2023, by sex

Source: National Suicide Research Foundation (2025)

‘All’ in the legend refers to the rate for both men and women per 100,000 population.

Figure 2: Cannabis and cocaine involvement in self-harm presentations, 2022 and 2023

Source: National Suicide Research Foundation (2025)

Self-harm and drug use

Intentional drug overdose (IDO) was the most common form of deliberate self-harm reported in 2022 and 2023, occurring in 59% of episodes. As observed in 2021, overdose rates were higher among women (63%) than among men (53%). Minor tranquillisers and major tranquillisers were involved in 29% and 11% of drug overdose acts, respectively. In total, 36% of male overdose cases and 51% of female overdose cases involved analgesic drugs, most commonly paracetamol, which was involved in 35% of all drug overdose acts. In 70% of cases, the total number of tablets taken was known, with an average of 28 tablets taken in episodes of self-harm that involved a drug overdose.

Illegal or street drugs were involved in 13% of male and 3% of female IDOs, respectively. Cocaine and cannabis were the most common street drugs recorded by the registry. Figure 2 presents information on cocaine and cannabis involvement in self-harm presentations in 2022 and 2023. Of all presentations in 2022, cocaine was involved in 5.4% of presentations while cannabis was involved in 1.7% of presentations. In 2023, this increased such that 6.3% of presentations involved cocaine and 3.2% involved cannabis. A greater proportion of men used cocaine and cannabis in comparison to women (65% for cocaine and 69% for cannabis). For both drugs, the majority (61–66%) of presentations were among those aged 20–34 years.

1    Joyce M, Chakraborty S, McGuiggan JC, Hursztyn P, Nicholson S, Arensman E, Griffin E and Corcoran P (2025). National Self-Harm Registry Ireland Annual Report 2022-2023. Cork: National Suicide Research Foundation. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/42850/