The HSE has defended using children in sting operations to catch retailers who are selling alcohol to underage customers.

Plans for Ireland's first supervised drug injecting centre have hit a stumbling block after Dublin City Council decided it needs planning permission.

Several sites in Cork City have been identified as possible locations for a supervised drug injecting room ahead of the introduction of the first facility of its kind in Ireland in Dublin next year.

Alcohol addiction is far more serious in Cork and Kerry than drug addiction, according to an expert from the HSE.

Claire O'Sullvan examines where these synthetic drugs are coming from and gets advice for parents on how to talk to teens about them

One in four deaths of young men aged from 15 to 39 in Ireland is due to alcohol and drink is a factor in half of all suicides, according to the Health Research Board.

Hotlines are being set up in Cork City to contact specially trained personnel who will safely dispose of the increasing number of dirty needles being discarded on the streets by heroin addicts.

An initiative is being set up in Cork and Kerry to combat what is by far the biggest drug abused – alcohol.

David Lane, Operations Manager, HSE Drug and Alcohol services, with the Lord Mayor at the launch of the (CLDATF) strategic plan for 2015/17, Cork County Hall.

Heroin addicts, their friends, and immediate relations are to be provided with a series of measures, including an antidote to the Class A drug, in an effort to prevent deaths from overdosing.

Nearly 90 people have died from heroin and other opiates in Cork City in the past 11 years, according to coroner Myra Cullinane.

There are 500 heroin addicts in Cork City and county — a massive increase in the past 10 years — with only half of them receiving any help.

Irish people gave less to charity on average in 2012 than their UK counterparts, according to a new report.

The Cliffs of Moher have been selected as our top choice when showing overseas visitors heritage sites here in Ireland.

Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance is looking to double the size of its business in Ireland and grow its market share over the next five years — identifying such developments as the Government’s plans to further lessen the Roman Catholic Church’s influence on the schooling system as opportunities.

Gardaí in Cork have carried out a number of raids on the homes of suspected drug dealers in an attempt to rid Cork City of a batch of unusually pure heroin, after the deaths of two men.

Two men are dead and two more are fighting for their lives in a Cork hospital amid fears that a lethal batch of high-purity heroin has hit the streets.

Two people are dead and seven others seriously ill amid fears a batch of high purity heroin is in circulation in Cork.

Recreational drug users need to become more aware of the dangers of mixing cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamines with alcohol, according to some of the country’s drug experts.

Children have been exposed to deadly diseases after picking up needles discarded by heroin users who inject themselves on Cork streets.

Children have been exposed to deadly diseases after picking up needles discarded by heroin users who inject themselves on Cork streets.

A warning has been issued to recreational drug-users following the deaths of two young men in Cork.

South Tipperary, Kerry, Waterford, Roscommon and Cork City have experienced the sharpest rises in the number of heroin addicts seeking help, figures show.

COCAINE use has risen in recent weeks due to a chronic shortage of heroin, drug treatment services have said.

THE HSE is set to open one drug and alcohol detox bed for under-18-year-olds in the southern region.

The parents who pleaded guilty in the balloon boy hoax agreed to pay about $36,000 (€27,000) in restitution to authorities who responded to the incident.

CORK is at risk of becoming Ireland’s new drug abuse capital, after a national drug prevention hotline placed it at the top of its danger list table.

A DIRECTORY highlighting new services for people seeking help for alcohol and drug abuse in the south has been launched.

US aviation authorities are seeking the maximum €7,700 fine against the man behind the balloon boy hoax.

The Colorado parents accused of pulling a spectacular hoax by reporting their son was aboard a runaway balloon have pleaded guilty to charges that could bring some jail time and probation.

THE Colorado parents who reported their six-year-old son floated away aboard a helium balloon will plead guilty to some charges in an attempt to keep the family together, the attorney for the boy’s father has said.

The parents of a six-year-old boy who was feared to have floated off in a flying saucer-shaped balloon in Colorado will plead guilty to some hoax charges to keep the family together.

The mother of the six-year-old US boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to court documents.

AUTHORITIES investigating the family accused of perpetrating the balloon boy hoax to promote a reality show said yesterday they don’t expect to bring possible charges until at least next week.

The father accused of masterminding a hoax in which emergency services chased an out-of-control balloon in which his son was feared to be trapped could be charged as early as today, his lawyer has said.

THE taskforce tackling the drug problem in Cork is drafting a new strategy to deal with the city’s growing heroin crisis.

DEMAND for drug and alcohol addiction treatment is expected to soar due to the economic downturn, the HSE warned after it emerged that five people were referred every day in the first nine months of last year.

THE Health Service Executive and GAA have enlisted 900 officers in clubs around the country to assist members who have a problem with alcohol and drugs.

STAFF at the rescued Cappoquin Chickens plant in west Waterford were yesterday presented with a stark choice: redundancy or a pay cut.

THE Cappoquin Poultry processing plant is to be taken over by two British investors who will prepare chicken for the British halal market.

WORKERS and suppliers at Cappoquin Chickens in Co Waterford are hoping that a last-minute deal may yet save the troubled plant, amid news of new talks aimed at securing a buyer.

THE Government has come under fire over the loss of hundreds of jobs in west Waterford following Tuesday’s announcement of the closure of Cappoquin Chickens.

SHOCKED, devastated, gutted, fearful about the future — the reactions of workers at Cappoquin Chickens after the cloud that hung over the plant all summer finally burst yesterday afternoon.