More than 8,000 workers in the health and social services sector are preparing for nationwide strikes next month over a failure to restore their pay in line with the public sector.

Continued strong sales momentum for Jameson Irish Whiskey, in key overseas markets, helped international drinks giant Pernod Ricard make a positive start to its current financial year.

A former Paralympian from Cork yesterday cut the ribbon on a new facility for people with physical disabilities in the city and surrounding areas.

A number of polling stations for today’s general election are not wheelchair accessible, voters with mobility issues have been warned.

Colin O’Reilly has laid down a challenge to players hopeful of making the Men’s Premier League All-Star team competing at the Sino-European Championships in July.

C&S UCC Demons will complete their 2014 campaign when they entertain Templeogue in the Men’s Premier League at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday.

Ireland’s wine taxes are the highest in Europe, a report reveals.

AFTER he broke his neck falling down the stairs at home 20 years ago, doctors feared Tony Hassett would never walk again. But the 59-year-old Nenagh-based sports coach defied medical opinion and is not only walking but is also a basketball coach.

TOMORROW night’s Dublin derby at Clontarf has all the ingredients for a thrilling encounter as joint leaders, 11890 Killester, take on Northside rivals, DCU Saints, for control of the Nivea for Men SuperLeague.

There will be new faces in the racing offices at both Youghal and Waterford after yesterday’s confirmation that current Youghal boss Kathleen Lennon is moving down the road to assume the position of Racing Manager at Waterford.

OLIVER Murphy, Ireland’s first paralympian and co-founder of the Irish Wheelchair Association, was one of the first patients to attend the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

ULSTER ELKS may be propping up the Northern Division table but they brought off the shock of the weekend when they beat UL Eagles 91-89 in a dramatic Nivea for Men SuperLeague clash after taking the game into overtime.

The Irish Wheelchair Association is holding its AGM in Co. Kilkenny today.

KIERAN O’BRIEN is expected to be back on court tomorrow night when DART Killester defend their unbeaten record against Belfast Star at the IWA gymnasium in Clontarf.

INCREASED smuggling south of the border and heightened shopping in the north has been predicted in the wake of the budgetary increases on cigarettes and wine.

The Irish Wine Association, while recognising the difficult circumstances facing the Minister, has expressed disappointment at the 25% increase in excise duty on wine announced in today’s Budget.

The Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague resumes after the drama of last weekend’s National Cup semi-final clashes, where Abrakebabra Tigers and DART Killester booked their place in the men’s final, while Team Montenotte Hotel Cork have a set-up a date with Waterford Wildcats.

NEPTUNE coach Sasa Punosevac feels they can spring a surprise when they travel to Clontarf tomorrow night to play his old club, DART Killester, in the SuperLeague Cup qualifier.

WHEELCHAIR users in Cork feel like prisoners in their own homes because they are finding it increasingly difficult to get accessible taxi’s to pick them up, it was claimed yesterday.

THE Government yesterday forced the controversial and much-maligned Disability Bill through the Dáil as protesters at the front gate of Leinster House accused the Coalition of treating them as second-class citizens.

BASKETBALL action in Cork gets off to a flying start in the New Year with two quarter-finals of the National Cup to be decided at Neptune Stadium on January 2, and the Mardyke Arena on Monday, January 3.

WHEN Mardyke UCC Demons and Neptune battled their way through to the final of the National Cup at the end of last season everyone was regretting the fact that it was not to be played in Cork - for many the spiritual home of basketball.

Why can’t a country, which reported an Exchequer surplus of €272m recently, look after its most vulnerable, wonders Catherine Shanahan.

THE Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) has criticised a local authority for signaling that it is going to means-test applicants for the Disabled Persons Grant.

A MAN in a motorised wheelchair is facing a possible drink-driving charge after his arrest on suspicion that he was over the limit.

ONE flush of a toilet in the western world uses as much water as a person in the developing world has for all their daily needs, 350 delegates from 45 countries heard in Dublin yesterday.

DISABILITY rights groups will march on the Dáil tomorrow in protest at the Government’s refusal to provide them with full-time workers to care for wheelchair users.

GOVERNMENT ministers face a frosty reception at this year's Special Olympics following cutbacks in promised funding for physical and sensory disability services.

DISABLED people may lose funding to adapt their homes as local authorities review the grant scheme.

Another victory for Neptune last weekend earned them a striking lead on the League table and with a home game against an off-form Limerick this weekend, they are likely to remain unbeaten for another week.

It's make or break this weekend as the Cup battle for a final four spot hots up.

Weekend Basketball fixtures are as follows: