Researchers claim their findings suggest that the adverse effects of pandemic restrictions appear to be linked to a rising incidence of acute drug-related issues among youths aged 15-24 years.

Research carried out by staff at University Hospital Galway compared suicide rates and methods of probable suicide in the west of Ireland over a 24-month period both before and after the onset of Covid-19 at the end of February 2020.

Two-thirds of all long-term residential care beds in three counties are now provided by large private operators, the ESRI said.

The report, published on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry website, sets out the scale of the differences in fatalities between the four UK regions.