METRO Friday, October 30, 2009 D MENU ThE Home Digest 4 Guilty Pleasures Celebrity gossip 6 World Digest 10 MetroLife Arts and Entertainment 12-13 60 Second Interview Magician Dan ODonohue 14 TV 14-15 Puzzles & Letters 16-17 Classifieds 18-19 Sport 20, 22-24 Help keep Dublin clean and tidy for everyone by taking your Metro with you and recycling it TODAY: Mild and windy with heavy rain spreading. Max: 16C TOMORROW: Mild, breezy and mostly dry. Max: 15C METRO Weather from 460 the previous year. It also revealed 74 suicides were reg- istered in the first three months of 2008 and 88 in the same period in 2006. Of this years victims, 24 were un- der 24 years old, another 28 under 35, 41 were between 35 and 54 and 26 were over 55. But Mr Kelly said experts believe the actual figure is much higher than officially reported, with scores of un- determined deaths recorded in the coroners courts. Fine Gaels Dan Neville said the fig- ure was alarming and stressed if the rise continued, the annual number could reach almost 600. This must be met with an emergen- cy response from the Government which has been ignoring its duty to respond to the mental health crisis brought about by times of recession, said Mr Neville, the partys mental health spokesman. Research going back to the 1890s demonstrates suicide and mental ill- ness increase at times of recession. The potential psychological impact of economic recession on public health is severe, he warned. Job loss, job insecurity... econom- ic strain, loss of income, home repos- session... lead to a reduction in men- tal well-being, an increase in mental health problems and mental ill-health, increased substance misuse, he said. Suicides up 43% in link to the economic crisisBY SARAh STACk MORE than one person a day died by suicide in the first three months of the year, it emerged yesterday. Despite a decline in recent years, of- ficial figures revealed 106 people took their life between January and March a 43 per cent rise. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported more than four in five deaths were male. And Fine Gael has called on the Government to put extra money and resources into suicide prevention as unemployment, debt, marital difficul- ties and the threat of losing a home takes its toll. Console, which supports those be- reaved through suicide, has a 24-hour freephone helpline for people with suicidal thoughts on 1800 247 100. Founder Paul Kelly said desperate callers are distressed over the eco- nomic downturn. There is a lot of people in great dis- tress out there, they are finding it dif- ficult to cope, they feel hopeless, said Mr Kelly. We have seen, through working with families, that levels were increasing. But you really cant say its down to the economic down- turn. Levels were still quite high dur- ing the Celtic Tiger years, he added. The CSO showed there were 424 suicides registered in 2008 down TEENAGERS GET ThE ThumbS-up Alana McLynn and Jack healy, both aged 17, at St Stephens Green, whose project was among 18 being honoured in the permanent tsb Forige Youth Citizenship Awards. The awards showcase outstanding examples of youth citizenship in action in local communities Picture: Fennells biRTh RATE FALLS THERE were 18,787 births in the first quarter of 2009, two per cent less than the same period last year, according to the CSO. Some 42 per cent were born to first-time mothers, 39 per cent to second-time mothers and 17 per cent were the mothers third child. More than one-third of all births were outside marriage. The average age of mothers was 31.2 years, ranging from 29.1 years in Limerick City to 33 in Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown. The average age of mothers having their first child was 29 years. There were 8,419 deaths in the first three months of 2009, an annual death rate of 7.6 per 1,000 population. This is almost 12 per cent higher than the same quarter in 2008, but 14 per cent lower than the same quarter in 2000. There were 3,450 marriages during the same period, an annual rate of 3.1 per 1,000 population, 0.1 per cent above the same quarter of 2008. Shine sex assault claims to be reviewed ALLEGATIONS of sexual assault against struck-off medic Michael Shine will be examined by a Government-appointed investigator. Health Minister Mary Harney will recruit a former High Court judge to hear complaints made against the disgraced consultant to decide if a full inquiry should be opened. Support group Dignity 4 Patients maintains 160 patients have claimed they were abused while Shine worked at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for 30 years up to 1994. Whistleblower former nurse Bernadette Sullivan said the groups members and anyone affected by the case will be able to have an input into the review. A pool of information has been collected that has not yet been seen by the authorities, she said. In 2003, Shine, now in his late 70s, was acquitted of 11 counts of indecent assault on six teenage boys between 1974 and 1982. But last year, he was struck off the medical register for professional misconduct by the Medical Council which found he committed assaults on three male patients and undertook inappropriate medical examinations. Garda are investigating more than 80 allegations which the former doctor denies. Struck-off: Shine Vaclav klaus: Opt-out Czechs get opt out on key Lisbon charter EU LEADERS last night agreed a deal to secure support from Czech Republic president Vaclav Klaus for the Lisbon Treaty. At a summit in Brussels, they accepted his demand for an opt-out from a human rights charter to be made a condition for ratifying the document, now expected to be signed by the end of the year. During the rerun of the Irish referendum on the treaty, pro- treaty campaigners insisted there could be no opt-outs, although the Government secured guarantees on neutrality, abortion and taxation that did not affect the text. The Czech opt-out is aimed at shielding the country from property claims by ethnic Germans who were expelled after World War Two. The Czech Republic is the only EU member state left to ratify the treaty. Also yesterday, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny criticised Taoiseach Brian Cowen for backing ex-Taoiseach John Bruton for the job of European Council president when Mr Cowen had originally backed former British prime minister Tony Blair. Mr Bruton, a former leader of Fine Gael and currently the EUs ambassador to the US, stepped into the race earlier this week. The presidents job will be created after all the member states have signed the Lisbon Treaty. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html