Pieta to franchise treatment model

Work is under way to turn a treatment model devised by an Irish suicide crisis charity into a franchise after a number of countries, including the US, expressed an interest in rolling it out themselves.

Pieta House, which is just seven years old, already has six centres in Ireland, with three more due to open by year end. The franchise would not be commercial.

Charity founder and CEO, Joan Freeman, said they had given presentations in Norway and Texas, while charities in Greece, the UK and Northern Ireland had also shown interest.