Although the selling agents, Dick Barry & Sons, reveal nothing more than cautious optimism about a forthcoming auction of an 80-acre farm near Watergrasshill in East Cork, this is surely going to be a major event, when the holding at Coneybeg goes under the hammer at the Vienna Woods Hotel, Glanmire, on May 29 at 3pm.

Cancer drugs for “several new clinical indications” are now being covered by the VHI, the private health insurer has confirmed.

The Clinical Director of the National Centre for Pharma-economics has said that VHI's decision to make some cancer drugs available to some private customers raises an issue of equity.

East Cork has been all abuzz with land price activity this year so it’s not any wonder then that there should be some excitement leading up to the public auction of another fine-sized 117-acre chunk of this sought-after land.

More than €2bn is being spent by the State on medicines each year — it is taking an increasing share of the healthcare budget and we should be insisting on getting better value for money from the drug companies, the head of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics told doctors.

Team Éamon Bowen (Éamon Bowen, Michael Barry and Denis Murphy) won the first big prize of 2018 when they beat Team Joseph Murphy (Joseph Murphy, Denis Connolly, Celly Spillane) in the John O’Donovan Cup final at Bottlehill on New Year’s Day.

A committee to evaluate drugs for rare diseases has yet to be set up three years after a Government report recommended its establishment.

The failure to set up a separate evaluation process for orphan drugs and the lack of opportunity for patient engagement when considering their reimbursement has been criticised by politicians from all parties.

The health minister has written to his ministerial counterparts in England, Scotland, Canada and Australia proposing they work together to access a new cystic fibrosis wonder drug at a “cost-effective price”.

There are calls for the company behind a Cystic Fibrosis drug to put their patients before profits.

The National Centre for Pharmaeconomics (NCPE) is seeking a five-fold reduction in the cost of the cystic fibrosis (CF) drug Orkambi.

Brian Wilmot bowled impressively to win the Denis ‘Sonny’ O’Donovan Cup final with almost a bowl to spare on Edmond Sexton at Ardcahan.

John Creedon beat Brian Wilmot in the last shot in the Paddy Barry Cup at Rosscarbery.

Limerick SHC wrap

Aidan Desmond was a comprehensive winner over Michael Barry in the Munster Junior C final at Whitechurch on Saturday.

Aidan Desmond was an impressive winner over Seán Twomey in the Munster Junior C semi-final at Templemichael on Sunday.

Ulster champion Thomas Mackle beat Christy Mullins on Sunday in the feature score of the benefit festival for the cancer unit at Cork University Hospital in Shannonvale.

Plans for a multi-million euro hotel off Dublin’s O’Connell St has run into strong opposition.

An Irish lecturer has won an international award for research which could reduce our national salt intake which is twice the recommended rate.

Cork PIHC: Tracton 1-17 Courcey Rovers 1-11

With a newly reduced asking price of €205,000, Weston at Rathealy Road in Fermoy can be seen as quite a bargain.

Road Bowling

Next Sunday at Skibbereen, Michael Toal returns from retirement to play Christy Mullins in the feature score of a benefit weekend for CoAction.

The proposed partial merger between Bord na Móna and State forestry body, Coillte is expected to take another two years or so to fully implement.

Bord na Móna is expecting the early contribution from pending wind farm projects to further boost its earnings this year, following a record profit performance in its latest financial year.

Limerick and Munster club hurling champions Na Piarsaigh opened their title defence in fine style yesterday with a 2-20 to 1-11 win over Kilmallock in Bruff.

Savings of around €200 a year can be made by private patients on the cost of anti-depressants if GPs prescribe a cheaper but equally effective drug preferred by the HSE, it emerged yesterday.

There was great excitement at the sale of some prime farmland at Carrignavar, Co Cork, recently when two young farmers went head to head for the 70-acre grassland farm at Ballybrack, just outside Cork city and in a very intensive dairying area.

Team Sky has called for opioid Tramadol to be added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list in response to comments made by a former team-mate of Lance Armstrong.

A middle-aged man who flicked a cigarette butt at his neighbour’s head and said, “I’m going to wreck your car tonight”, was yesterday fined and given a suspended jail sentence for his actions.

Doctors have claimed the HSE failed to tell them about potentially fatal flaws in how two blood-thinning drugs to fight stroke are being used on 4,000 people — despite officials knowing about the problems since last week.

The Irish Patients Association says people on prescription medicine should be given consent forms to ensure they are warned about possible side effects.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is facing further pressure on his plans to replace the Junior Certificate with a school-marked system after Fine Gael members voted to seek changes.

A Clinical Director at St James Hospital in Dublin has said the HSE is not to blame for the price of medication in Ireland.