A national Parasuicide Registry, the first of its kind in the world, was launched yesterday in Cork by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin.
According to the National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork, which will administer the registry, no other country has decided to analyse the extent of parasuicide or attempted suicide, and the fact that such a project was now being undertaken should help to shed new light on the extent of the problem in Ireland.
Mr Martin said suicide had become the most common cause of death among 15- to 24-yearolds in Ireland.
"Apart from the increase in the overall rate of suicide, a disturbing feature is the significant rise in the male suicide rate, which accounted for 79 per cent of deaths from suicide in 1999," he added.
Parasuicide is defined as any non-fatal act which an individual deliberately undertakes, knowing that it may cause them physical harm or even death.
Statistics show that almost one-third of suicides in Ireland are preceded by parasuicide and one in five people who engage in parasuicide do so again within six months.
This year, an additional £830,000 would be made available for suicide prevention programmes in the health boards and of this, £100,000 would go towards the work of the National Parasuicide Registry, Mr Martin said.
According to the foundation, there were an estimated 6,000 cases of parasuicide last year; while the figure for suicide was 431, down from 504 in 1999.