The Government yesterday hailed the publication of the long-awaited Children First Bill which, if made into law, will make it mandatory for professionals to report possible incidents of abuse.

In your letters page, (Examiner 3/4/’14), Kathleen O’Meara of the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) rejects the latest figures on smuggled tobacco, but she would say that, wouldn’t she?

The Irish Tobacco Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee (ITMAC) claims that 27.9% of tobacco in Cork is illegal (Irish Examiner, April 1). The Revenue Commissioners provide data on tobacco smuggling.

Minister admits delays in filling child inspector posts nationally

A retailers’ group has warned that the Government plan to introduce plain tobacco packaging will fail unless measures introduced in Australia are included.

We, the Irish Cancer Society, have noted the article ‘Cigarette pack codes to tackle illicit trade’ (Irish Examiner, February 4) and the quote from a representative of Customs ‘welcoming’ the tobacco industry-funded Codentify system.

Siptu has called for an upcoming Hiqa probe into ambulance response times to include a review of the resourcing provided to the service.

There are just 155 hospice beds available at a time when there should be 450, it emerged at yesterday’s meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Overhauling the country’s organ donation regime could see donor rates more than double, it has been claimed.

A support organisation for Ireland’s transgender community was contacted 80 times last year by families whose children were exploring their gender identity, it has emerged.

Would-be organ donors should be able to use an online list to detail what they want offered for transplant on their death, experts have claimed.

Would-be organ donors should be able to use an online menu to detail what they want offered for transplant on their death, experts have claimed.

Regular weighing could tip the scales in favour of a campaign to fight obesity.

The first in a series of nationwide meetings aimed at tackling suicide is to take place in Cork tonight.

A total ban on all sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol brands by 2016 is just one of a number of proposals that will be brought to Cabinet in the coming months.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has announced that a referendum on children's rights will happen this year.

Two Dáil members have called for an inquiry after a whistleblowing mental health worker claimed she was sacked.

HOSPITALS in the north-east and mid-west are being closely monitored by the state’s health safety watchdog following a “flurry of concerns”.

A new report has found almost one in every five children is at risk of poverty in Ireland.

PLANS for a new grade of senior non-consultant doctor to improve hospital service delivery were revealed by Health Minister James Reilly.

NURSES have urged Health Minister James Reilly to publicly affirm the high quality of patient care in Roscommon Hospital.

THERE are 191 junior doctor posts vacant in hospitals around the country, the Health Service Executive has confirmed.

THE number of crisis calls from children to one of the country’s leading emergency helplines has risen by a shocking 56,000 in just one year.

THE Government has again been accused of failing children, as figures from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children show there were almost 450,000 calls to its helpline in the first six months of the year.

Members of the Oireachtas Health Committee will visit the Mosney accommodation centre in Co Meath after it emerged more than 150 asylum seekers are being moved from the facility.

Embattled Tallaght Hospital revealed an overhaul of its management today in the wake of the unchecked X-ray and unopened referral letters controversy.

FORMER Minister for Health, Micheál Martin forwarded the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (CAHR) report to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children four years ago but its members failed to ever publish a report on proposed legislation.

THE Supreme Court is due to rule today on an appeal by a woman in her 40s against the High Court’s refusal to order a Dublin fertility clinic to release three frozenembryos to her for the purpose of pregnancy against her estranged husband’s wishes.

THE proposed Adoption Bill has been criticised for failing to provide the legal right to enable adopted people to trace their birth parents or obtain a range of post-adoption services.

CHILDREN who suffer severe damage as a result of a vaccine should get payouts of up to €200,000, a report on adverse reactions to vaccines has recommended.

A delegation of politicians will visit Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin today ahead of a Dáil motion calling on the Government to reverse swingeing health cutbacks.

Swingeing health cuts at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin will see the number of in-patients treated fall by 1,100, Fine Gael claimed today.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children is seeking an urgent meeting with the head of the HSE to discuss the future of Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin.

AT LEAST a third of 125 vaccine damage claims made to the Department of Health allege severe mental or physical disability as a result of state-promoted vaccination programmes dating back to the 1980s.

WITH over 900 people dying of bowel cancer in Ireland every year, and over half of patients presenting with the disease at a late stage, the Irish Cancer Society has nominated April as Ireland’s first Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

A FURTHER €60 million drop in health levy contributions because of the recession means that the Health Service Executive has to find a way of meeting a funding shortfall of e540m, an Oireachtas committee was told yesterday.

PARENTS will find the cost of having their daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer will be more expensive next year because of the reduction in tax relief on medical expenses.

Leading experts are warning that moving the Central Mental Hospital to a rural location beside the State's biggest prison is entirely incompatible with the principles of mental health care.

THERE has been considerable discussion recently over the failure of HSE South to provide general anaesthetic facilities to adult patients with special needs. This problem has been ongoing for almost 12 months.

THE man charged with implementing the State’s cancer control programme is surprised travelling for cancer care is such a significant issue in Ireland.

MANY Irish women having babies by IVF are not being told they can have a test to identify if the embryo has a fatal deformity, according to a European-wide report.

A STATE-APPOINTED group charged with drafting a compensation scheme for vaccine-damaged children is seeking submissions from the public and interested groups on the issue.

FIVE major acute hospitals with 6,700 patients between them waiting over three months for surgery are being targeted in a new effort to fast-track their treatment under the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

MORE than 10,000 children were awaiting public orthodontic treatment last year, despite the appointment of 13 additional specialist orthodontists in 2005, new figures disclosed yesterday to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children show.