Centre sees 7-year-olds at risk of suicide

THE country’s only centre for intervention in suicide has reported a dramatic 60% rise in children being referred to it with suicidal tendencies mainly due to stress among recession-hit families.

Children as young as seven years of age are threatening to take their lives, according to the charity Pieta House.

Its centre in Lucan, Co Dublin, said it had been inundated with families and their children seeking help this summer, at a time when there is usually a lull in demand for services.