THE news of plans to ban the sale and possession of a range of substances sold in head shops is welcomed by all those who protested outside these stores.

THE HSE approval of a €70,000 bonus for its chief executive, Brendan Drumm, as succinctly described in your editorial (October 15), is a thundering disgrace given that he presided over cuts leading to the closure of hospital beds, the laying off of temporary staff, the non-replacement of employees who leave the service and cutting allowances for staff with the trimming of next year’s budget by €1.2bn.