The rise amounts to more than 5,300 medical-card patients.

Tributes have been paid to a retired priest who lost his life when his car plunged into the water from a pier last night.

A Halloween assault where the victim had his jaw broken is set to cost the assailant €10,000.

A pre-menstrual disorder, PMDD causes extreme distress but new recognition should help us to identify and treat it early, writes Dr Brendan Kelly.

A motorist who sped from gardaí through a red light and a pedestrian crossing hoped to have a three-month jail term overturned on appeal today but the judge decided to double the sentence instead.

Some experts suggest overindulgence leads Catholics to early graves, and some have suggested the Famine led to genetic changes, writes Victoria White

So that’s Wednesday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

Psychiatrist Brendan Kelly says the majority of research shows an association between cannabis use and a range of psychological problems, including anxiety, depression, and psychosis.

A former self-described Zen failure, psychiatrist Dr Brendan Kelly resolved to meditate for 15 minutes every day. He shares the results of clearing the mind and gaining focus

A stepfather was found guilty today of sexually assaulting his partner’s daughter three times from when she was aged 12 — getting into her bed each time with the words, “Push over, love.”

The toll of looking after someone with a chronic illness has replaced unemployment as the single biggest factor impacting on wellbeing, a survey has found.

This documentary features the two leading barristers in the Belfast case.

An investigation into alleged blackmailing of a man using a gay dating site resulted in the accused pleading guilty yesterday to demanding thousands with menaces.

Cork City Council gave a young man a €23,000 mobile home on a rental basis to live in and he arranged for a crane and haulier to remove it to Co Kildare.

An 82-year-old man, living alone, was inveigled into paying €17,500 to a workman for a job that cost no more than €400.

The victim of a city centre robbery was left frightened by the attack which happened as he walked to his city home shortly before midnight and two of those involved were jailed yesterday.

A student on the bus home to Kerry was caught by the throat by a drunken man who mocked him as a homosexual and when another passenger came to the student’s assistance this man was later struck on the hand with a knife.

A 72-year-old Wexford woman who travelled to Cork every Christmas was knocked to the ground and robbed of her handbag but she returned the following year as she wanted to face her fears.

Latest:The complainant was further asked how she felt about Jackson.

A man caught with thousands of euro worth of cannabis in his car-boot and thousands more worth of the drug in a follow-up search at his home was remanded in custody for a further two months until February 13.

A man who was caught over five years ago with hundreds of images of child pornography on his computer was released after a week in jail yesterday to await sentencing in February.

A man who was caught over five years ago with hundreds of images of child pornography on his computer was remanded in custody until Friday as the sentencing judge said there was a breakdown in the accused doing what was required.

Even though murder-suicide remains incredibly rare, there are steps that can be taken to help mitigate the causes, argues Brendan Kelly.

The Irish women’s team were crowned world champions when defeating Canada in the AFL International Cup Grand Final at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia.

What amazes friends and neighbours who comment on the bearded seal that was identified in Courtmacsherry Bay early this month is that it has been resident here for up to two years.

A young man with a violent history threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend an hour after being released on bail on another charge of threatening to kill her.

A heroin dealer who was caught with a quantity of the drug in Cork travelled to Dublin for another stash in the vain hope of selling it to clear his debt from the first drugs bust. 

A man who threatened to kill a publican if he gave court evidence against him was sentenced to one year of imprisonment yesterday.

A woman claimed she was held captive by her ex-boyfriend and that he slashed a big canvas poster of Marilyn Monroe with a machete threatening that the same would happen to her.

Education Minister Richard Bruton’s plans to speed up the divestment of religious primary schools to new patrons face strong challenge as a multi-denominational schools group claims they prioritise the Catholic Church’s wishes over those of parents.

Long-term inmates are being kept in prison despite being eligible for parole because there are no facilities on the outside to support them.

A garda suffered a flying kick to the chest resulting in a heavy impact from an assailant’s metal prosthetic leg as he arrested the man for trying to assault his own girlfriend.

Footprints left outside a house in Bishopstown where more than €15,000 worth of jewellery and personal property was stolen led gardaí to one of the burglars who was jailed yesterday.

An Armagh who was caught with 20,000 cigarettes and 240 packets of loose tobacco in Cork without payment of excise duty was given a one-year jail sentence suspended yesterday.

The manager of a supermarket was punched in the face as he and staff escorted a drunken man from the premises. The culprit was yesterday sentenced to two years imprisonment with the second year suspended.

Dr Keith Gaynor’s comments about mental wellbeing, based on his new book, “Protecting Mental Health”, place welcome emphasis on humans as social beings, living in communities, families and societies (Irish Examiner, 26 January).

Last year’s champions Thurles CBS made it two wins from two in Group C of the Dr Harty Cup as they pulled away from Scoil na Tríonóide Naofa of Doon in the final quarter at Toomevara yesterday.

An elaborate mortgages fraud where Bank of Ireland was scammed saw one of the organisers appear for sentencing yesterday, but the judge said he would have to come up with more compensation if he wanted to avoid the inevitable.

A middle-aged man was put on trial yesterday charged with intimidating a witness in another trial. He was found not guilty at the end of the State evidence.