22.8% of farmers that participated in the national survey run by University College Dublin (UCD) were considered “at-risk for suicide”.
This means that they reported having suicidal thoughts or urges within the previous two weeks of taking part in the study.
The findings are based on the responses of 457 farmers from around the country.
A similar survey carried out last year found that 23.4% of participating farmers had reporting having suicidal thoughts.
UCD
The 2024 survey, which was supported by Agriland, was carried out in recent months by a psychology masters student, Mark Creegan, in collaboration with members from the UCD Agri Mental Health Group: Prof. Louise McHugh; Dr. Alison Stapleton; and Dr. Tomás Russell.
The initial results show that over 82% of the farmers who took part in the survey said that they personally knew someone who had died by suicide.
The data shows that 339 males and 118 females aged from 18 to 77 years took part in the study. Cork was the county with the highest number of participants in the survey
The majority of respondents were dairy farmers (163), followed by beef (138), mixed enterprise (103), sheep (35) and tillage (11).
Around a third of those who took part farmed between 50-100ha of land.
On average, farmers reported working 8 hours per day on the farm, but the findings show that the working day could range from 1 to 18 hours.
Stay tuned to Agriland for further analysis and results from the survey over the coming weeks.
Survey
Meanwhile, the UCD Agri Mental Health Team is currently running a separate survey examining farmers’ thoughts on mental health spokespersons.
The survey seeks to establish who the farming community sees as a credible mental health speaker.
The data compiled from the survey will be used to inform the development of future interventions for well-being and distress.
Those who take part in the anonymous 15-minute survey, which can be found by clicking here, must be aged over 18, based in Ireland, and a member of the farming community.
If you have been impacted by the content in this story you may wish to take note of or connect with the following confidential services:
- Samaritans: 01 671 0071 or samaritans.org
- Pieta House 1800 247 247, text ‘HELP’ to 51444 (standard text message rates apply) or pieta.ie/contact/