Report will help the vulnerable

Last year, there were 448 deaths from suicide in this country, more than those caused by accidents on our roads.

Considerably more than that number attempted suicide last year. In its annual report for last year, the National Suicide Research Foundation showed that just under 5,000 people attempted to take their own lives and that was based on a study of only half the population, and did not include Dublin.

It is more than likely that by the end of the year, when practically the entire country will have been surveyed, the truer figure will probably be in the region of 12,000 attempted suicides.

Last year, people in the age bracket from 15 to 24 showed the highest level of attempted suicide, and there were slightly more women than men.

What is valuable about these figures is that they can lead to establishing the causes as to what promotes suicide and offer help to the groups most susceptible to it.

In that regard, both the Southern Health Board and the Mid Western Health Board have special intervention programmes aimed at helping people to cope.

With the rate of suicide in Ireland showing an overall increase, especially that among males, the work of the foundation is vital to the development of better strategies to help people at risk.