A late decision by the Montenegro FA to play today’s European Championship qualifier against Ireland behind closed doors didn’t prevent the small visiting fanbase attending the fixture.

Carers who provide home help to elderly people should be required to have a minimum level of training.

Increased corporation tax revenues should be used to fund a new €100m Fair Deal scheme for home care, a report has recommended.

Breastfeeding rates in the Republic are improving faster than they are in the North.

Breastfeeding rates in Ireland are increasing steadily, but the gap between North and South is getting wider.

Women in Ireland now have an average life expectancy of nearly 83 years of age, while men can expect to live to 78 and a half, according to the Institute of Public Health.

More than a third of young people in Ireland are drinking sugary soft drinks most days of the week, research shows.

Just how vulnerable homeless people are is highlighted in a report which found the average age of death among those living on the streets is 42 years.

Smokers are running out of places to indulge their habit with almost all the country’s playgrounds now formally declared tobacco-free zones.

Four out of 10 people have trouble reading, understanding, and acting on health information, a major conference on tackling health inequalities was told.

Approximately one in six three-year-olds in the Republic of Ireland has had an accident or injury that required hospital treatment or admission, according to a report published today.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the sons of the late actor and comedian Dermot Morgan are backing a new campaign to encourage greater awareness of the risks of high blood pressure.

Fears of an Alzheimer’s explosion are unfounded, according to new research showing that dementia rates may be stabilising in the UK and other parts of Europe.

A large number of state agencies, including the Equality Authority, have no employees with a disability despite a statutory target that they should account for at least 3% of their workforces.

Cutting speed limits in built-up areas will lead to fewer accidents and bring physical and social benefits, a conference on public health will hear today.

Around 11,000 three-year olds in Ireland have at least one serious long-standing health condition.

Ireland will finally receive internationally recognised grades on the level of activity of children next year, researchers have confirmed.

Eating blueberries, grapes, apples and pears cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes but drinking fruit juice can increase it, a large study has found.

The layout of Ireland’s towns and villages must be overhauled if the country is to adequately tackle the growing obesity crisis.

The Irish Heart Foundation has said a tax on sugar sweetened drinks (SSDs) 'seems like a no-brainer to protect our children' against obesity.

Never mind the crow’s feet and the laughter lines — they’re a sign of rude good health, a conference heard yesterday.

WHAT does it say about our political system when the minister who publicly rails against cronyism, and raises concerns about the failure of government to deliver its pre-election promises, is the one being treated like a pariah by her colleagues?

A routine eye test saved her sight — and possibly even her life.

Health Minister James Reilly must persist with plans to tackle fizzy drink and confectionery lobby groups if he is to prevent the health service from being “overwhelmed” with a growing diabetes crisis.

The number of adults with chronic breathing problems in the North is expected to rise to 40,000 by the end of the decade, it was claimed today.

Salt in processed food should be reduced by regulation or taxation as there’s a “mass epidemic” of high blood pressure in the over-50s, a leading doctor with the Health Research Board has said.

A minister for public health should be appointed in light of startling new figures showing the hidden impact of Ireland’s unequal society on the health of the poor.

“HEAT or eat” has become a widespread phenomenon for older people.

New research on fuel poverty has shown 51% of older people have had to go without food or clothing to pay for home heating.

UP to 1,200 elderly people could die over the next three months as an indirect result of the freezing conditions in their homes.

SUPPORT groups dealing with the least well-off and unemployed are facing an increase in demand from men suffering recession-related health problems.

Unemployment is being linked to rising mental health problems for men in a new survey.

HEALTH services throughout the country are being urged to plan for significant increases in the number of people with breathing difficulties over the next decade.

MORE than half of the Irish population is now finding it much harder to make ends meet, a study on the health of the nation has found.

Irish people are going to the doctor less because they can no longer afford it, a survey suggested today.

BUCKETS of butter-coated popcorn, litres of fizzy drinks and an array of melt-in-your-mouth chocolates may be central to most cinema trips, but the treat could soon become a thing of the past.

The number of people in the Republic of Ireland with chronic conditions such as coronary heart disease will soar by 40% over the next decade, new research warned today.

More needs to be done to tackle the alarming rise of heart disease, diabetes and stroke in Ireland, according to a report released by the Institute of Public Health today.

I WISH to express my disappointment at the first section of your editorial (‘Taoiseach must stick to his guns’, December 4) and also your failure to call for patience and calm at a crucial time in our country’s history.

RISING unemployment and reliance on social welfare are placing more people at risk of fuel poverty during the recession.

OUR diets will worsen during the recession, making the obesity epidemic worse, health experts warned yesterday.

More people are joining gyms than GAA clubs, a survey has found.

Fears were voiced today an island-wide increase in fuel poverty could lead to a rise in winter deaths.

PEOPLE living in disadvantaged areas will have to choose between feeding their family or warming them this winter, the Institute of Public Health (IPH) has warned.