A toddler from Co Cork diagnosed as being profoundly deaf will undergo a “bionic ear” operation in Britain tomorrow, becoming the first Irish person to have the revolutionary surgery.

UP to 500 workers have come smiling through the doom and gloom of budget week with huge financial windfalls as a “thank you” from the departing owners of the food company they work for.

A retired member of the Garda Special Branch has been jailed for five years and disqualified from driving for 15 years for drunk driving causing death and serious injury.