In an article by Caroline O’Doherty, “Difficulty in determining cause of death delays recording of suicides” (Irish Examiner, September 20), it is clarified that many suicides are not being officially recorded for more than two years because of difficulties determining how the person died.

Regarding the article on suicide in the Irish Examiner last Saturday, I would like to point out that the figures on suicide for 2012 released by the Central Statistics Office last week are only preliminary figures, and I would recommend caution in interpreting them.

I WOULD like to comment on the important front page article (January 28) that highlighted the increase in suicides among elderly people based on observations from coroners in Offaly and Kerry.