40% drop in recorded suicides in Donegal

There was a 40% drop in the number of recorded suicides in Donegal last year compared to 2016.
According to CSO figures 392 people took their own lives nationally in 2017 – compared to 399 in 2016.
In Donegal, the fall was sharper, with 12 deaths through suicide recorded last year compared to 20 in 2016.
According to the CSO, there were 7.5 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in Donegal in 2017, slightly below the national average of 8.2.
Conversely, in 2016, the Donegal figure was 12.4 deaths per 100,000, against a national figure of 8.4.
The vast majority of those who died by suicide were male. Last year in Donegal, 11 men and one woman died through suicide, while in 2016, 13 men and seven women took their own lives.
Samaritans Ireland says while the statistics show a welcome downward trend since 2015, more needs to be done in the area of suicide prevention.