Government remains divided on an opposition abortion bill after it failed to reach agreement during a lengthy Cabinet meeting.

THIS society’s struggle with alcohol abuse continues and it would be a very brave person indeed who might suggest that it will ever end. 

Relations between government partners Independent Alliance and Fine Gael are deteriorating further after a second public row in 24 hours, this time over the sale of alcohol in shops.

A high hospital admissions rate for people with bronchitis and emphysema is being tackled, Junior Health Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy told a patients’ conference yesterday.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

Fine Gael senators have threatened to vote against the Government’s alcohol bill if they do not get reassurances on measures impacting on small businesses.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is the “main obstacle” to a free vote on an abortion bill, several ministers have revealed.

The Junior Health Minister Finian McGrath says he stands by his comments on smoking, but will support Government policy on it.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Outrage over a couple in their 90s who were left lying on hospital trolleys for hours has prompted calls for a dedicated official to be present in all emergency departments to oversee the care of elderly patients.

The standard one-year warranty on 10 PlayStations bought for the entertainment of children hospitalised with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is in danger of expiring before the ward for which they were purchased even opens.

The CEO of Limerick City of Culture 2014, who resigned after a controversy blew up about the manner in which she was appointed, has reportedly received a more than €100,000 settlement, the Irish Examiner has learned.

More than a month into a high-profile campaign to attract 500 nurses back to Ireland, just 10 had joined the health service.

The HSE has said it is to investigate concerns raised by a well-known Limerick businesswoman after she experienced "hell on earth" in a psychiatric hospital unit in Limerick.

The HSE’s national recruitment service has been asked to prioritise staffing a new €2.3m respiratory ward, funded by a charity, that remains closed at Cork University Hospital (CUH) due to nurse shortages.

Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch said she was “disappointed” with the delayed opening of a new €2.3m respiratory ward at Cork University Hospital funded by charity but said the hospital was struggling to fill 40 nursing posts.

The Government’s free GP care for the under-6s plan will cost double the amount originally planned with a supplementary budget likely to be needed to fund the initiative.

Tánaiste Joan Burton is standing over a Labour minister’s decision to appoint a special adviser who left Limerick’s City of Culture project amidst controversy.

The nursing shortage crippling healthcare delivery in hospitals will extend to nursing homes unless the Government urgently engages in workforce planning, Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) has warned.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney was accused of being "disloyal" by an angered Labour minister after saying Fine Gael would consider a coalition with Fianna Fáil after the next election.

The Government says the health watchdog HIQA has agreed to give public nursing homes three years to reach the required standards.

The Government has agreed a deal with HIQA to prevent a raft of public nursing homes from being closed.

The HSE has taken the first steps towards the possible installation of surveillance systems in its facilities to protect vulnerable patients in the wake of the Áras Attracta controversy.

A tragic case of a pregnant woman on a life-support machine is set to push the Coalition into further discussing Ireland’s abortion laws.

The HSE has confirmed 10 staff and one agency worker at a disability service run by the Daughters of Charity in Tipperary have been taken off duty following complaints over "inappropriate" care practices.

The HSE has announced plans to set up a network of “safeguarding” teams to stamp out abuse of vulnerable adults in care on a week overshadowed by allegations of such behaviour.

Emergency measures to ease the homeless crisis in Dublin will be replicated in other cities — but not immediately.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Alex White says the idea of having bonuses for Irish Water staff that need to improve jars with him.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly has been urged to make an "immediate statement" on how he intends to address the problems faced by 26 voluntary disability and health groups who have lost their state funding.

The new Junior Minister with responsibility for the Gaeltacht will take a refresher course in the Irish language after it emerged his proficiency in the language was not enough to conduct an interview on TG4.

New laws allowing cannabis-based medicines to be prescribed in Ireland for the first time could be in place by tomorrow.

The Government has passed legislation to introduce free GP care for the under-sixes, but rejected proposals from independent TDs to easily extend the free services for children when they exceed that age.

Large numbers of Labour supporters who abstained from voting in the local elections could be persuaded to back the party in the next general election, a former deputy leader has suggested.

Nominations for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership contests will close at midday today.

Candidates hoping to secure the top job as leader of the Labour Party have until tomorrow to submit their nominations.

The HSE has confirmed that people who have already lost their medical cards will not be able to get them back.

Joan Burton’s bid for the Labour Party leadership is expected to be challenged by Junior Health Minister Alex White, in a move which will divide party members following a bruising set of elections last week.

Outgoing Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has insisted the Coalition will not be plunged into instability as a result of his resignation as Labour leader. He urged his successor to keep the party in Government until the end of its mandate in 2016.