Suicide figures - Our most pressing issue

The Central Statistics Office has published some alarming figures in its annual release of information on births, deaths and marriages in 2009. Marginally over one-third of the births were to unmarried women, but almost 56% of those births were to cohabiting couples.

There were 28,898 deaths registered in 2009. The most almost alarming aspect was the marked increase in the number of suicides. There were 527 deaths registered as suicides in 2009, compared with 424 the previous year. This amounts to an increase of 24% in one year.

Males accounted for 80% of the suicides, with the largest increase among those aged 25 to 44. The increase has been largely blamed on the downturn in the economy – the job losses, the spiral in debts, and the fear of house repossession.