IFA and Pieta House put rural suicide in the spotlight

Rural populations are more at risk of suicide than urban communities and the rate tends to escalate with levels of remoteness, says the IFA.

Globally, men have been shown to be three times likelier to commit suicide than women; in Ireland, they are four times more likely. An estimated 13% of those who die from suicide are from an agricultural background.

The IFA, which has been working with Pieta House since 2011 to provide information and support to farmers and their families, said that figure rises to four times more likely.