Ticket mix-up delays return of Romanian orphan

Plans to force a four-year-old paralysed Romanian orphan to leave Ireland were delayed today due to a mix-up over tickets.

The Romanian authorities ordered that Mihaela Porambaru be returned to her native country because of a visa problem.

The girl has returned to her Irish foster mother's home in Dundalk, Co Louth, where she was originally staying and awaiting urgent medical treatment.

She was due to leave Belfast for Bucharest this morning, but the wrong date was on the flight tickets and she will now leave tomorrow instead.

Mihaela’s foster mother had criticised the Romanian authorities for ordering her return because she won’t be able to receive specialist treatment in Romania.