An external expert has been appointed to examine safeguarding issues within the HSE following the case of a nursing home resident who was sexually assaulted by a healthcare assistant.

Leo Varadkar said that care facilities are almost always safe places and that the incident only came to light because of “the cognitive clarity and the emotional strength” of the resident at the centre of the case

A pensioner who survived Covid-19 despite being given an hour to live by medics said he feels “great” after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Michael Delaney, from Co Offaly, was in hospital for seven weeks with the virus last year.