An 83-year-old woman deemed medically fit for discharge back in July of this year has been stuck in a leading Dublin hospital ever since because the Health Service Executive won’t pay for a nursing home for her.

The activities of charities in Northern Ireland are to come under the scrutiny of a commissioner. Legislation aimed at creating the post of charity commissioner will be introduced to the assembly on Monday.

One of Ireland’s richest men has paid tribute to the thousands of carers and people who give up their time for others.

The Carers’ Association, the national representative organisation for Ireland’s 161,000 family carers, has expressed disappointment at the Government’s failure to deliver meaningful assistance to Ireland’s family carers in the Budget.

More than 60,000 ex-members of the UDR and Royal Irish Regiment are to benefit from a £2m a year service to help them deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

Ireland’s prison chaplains say there is an urgent need to find new ways of dealing with offenders as the current criminal justice system is failing.

Suicide and self-harm support groups from north Belfast presented their findings on issues mental health service users face in accessing mental health care to an international panel of human rights experts.

The share of government cash allocated to address severe under-funding in Northern Ireland’s mental health and learning disability provision is a ” derisory” offer that will have little impact on urgently-needed plans to completely overhaul services.

The Women’s Aid organisation is claiming that 40% of all women in Ireland experience some form of sexual assault.

Barnardos – the leading lifeline charity for children – is facing its own staffing crisis in Northern Ireland in the mouth of Christmas.