World Suicide Prevention Day: Suicides double in Donegal

Health Minister Mary Harney is to open a conference at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin this morning to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
The conference comes in the week when new figures show that the number of suicides in Donegal doubled last year.
Up to 500 delegates are expected to attend today’s conference which has been organised by the group, Console.
Ahead of the conference, there have been calls for more money to be made available to suicide prevention groups.
This to tackle the growing problem of suicide which in Donegal has seen the number of those taking their lives double in a year.
In 2008 10 suicides were recorded in the county, this compared to 20 last year.
The provisional figures from the CSO show the rate of people taking their own lives in Donegal is above the national average.
Growing economic pressures have been named as a contributing factor to the increase suicide rate in Donegal.