Month: June 2026

Understanding self‑harm among young people is essential to improving how we respond, both within services and across communities. In Ireland, one of the most important sources of national evidence is the National Self‑Harm Registry Ireland (NSHRI). The Registry collects detailed information on presentations to hospital emergency departments following self‑harm, providing a national picture of who is affected, when presentations occur, and how patterns change over time.

At Jigsaw, we use insights from the NSHRI alongside our own service data to better understand the needs of young people. This evidence informs not only how our services are planned and delivered, but also how we identify emerging trends, respond to areas of increased need, and ensure supports are reaching the young people who need them most. By combining national and local data, we can take a more responsive and evidence‑informed approach to youth mental health. Importantly, the value of NSHRI data goes beyond service delivery. It also helps shape Jigsaw’s wider work in early intervention, schools programmes, and mental health promotion. In this way, Registry findings contribute to a more coordinated, whole‑system response to supporting young people’s mental health and preventing self‑harm.

Some people who self-harm will require medical attention and may attend a hospital emergency department. In that case, information about the presentation may be recorded by the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland (NSHRI). The NSHRI is a system that records and reports on information about self-harm presentations to hospital emergency departments across the Republic of Ireland. The NSHRI helps to identify which groups in the country present to hospital, when presentations occur, the types or methods of self-harm, and which places in the country have the highest rates of self-harm. The NSHRI highlights the need for services for those who self-harm, and data from the NSHRI helps inform wider self-harm and suicide prevention efforts.

Self-harm in the Republic of Ireland in 2024: Facts and figures

• In 2024, there were 4,841 presentations by young people (12–25 years old), of a total of 12,621 presentations across all ages. This means that more than a third of self-harm presentations to hospital are by young people.
• In Ireland, that means that one in 204 young people attended hospital after self-harm in 2024. This is in comparison to one in 552 people across all ages.
• Self-harm presentations to hospital are twice as common among girls than boys. For teenagers (13–19 years old), the difference was even larger, with girls three times more likely to attend hospital with self-harm than boys.
• The rates among young people increased during the pandemic, but decreased slightly (by 4%) from 2023 to 2024.
• For young men, the highest rate is among 20–25-year-olds, with one in 290 men attending hospital with self-harm.

The latest findings of the Registry can be found here (https://www.nsrf.ie/registry/latest-registry-findings/).

Contact the Registry

If you attended a hospital emergency department in the Republic of Ireland with self-harm, your data may have been confidentially recorded by the NSHRI. The NSHRI adheres to the GDPR guidelines for the processing of data. If you or your parent/guardian would like to check if your data have been recorded by the Registry, or if you would like us to remove your data from our database, you can contact us via our website (nsrf.ie/registry) or by e-mailing infonsrf@ucc.ie.

Support

If you or someone you know needs support or is in crisis:

• Contact your local General Practitioner (GP)
• Go to/contact the Emergency Department of your nearest hospital

Details of other health services in your area can be found here (www2.hse.ie/mental-health/) or by calling the HSE Mental Health information line any time: freephone 1800 111 888