New proposals to shake up the process of dealing with abuse allegations against teachers are to be published within months, the government has announced. Ministers will also reveal the results of an audit into the number of teaching staff who have been suspended following accusations of child abuse. The figures were collected as part of a department of education review into the complaints and investigations procedure against teaching staff in Northern Ireland.

The number of direct drug-related deaths in Dublin fell significantly between 2000 and 2003. However the number of such deaths outside of Dublin increased during the same period, figures have shown. According to the Health Research Board’s (HRB) Drug Misuse Research Division, there were around 900 direct drug-related deaths in Ireland between 1980 and 2003. (‘Direct’ drug-related deaths are those occurring as a result of overdose, both intentional and unintentional.)

New proposals to tighten up the regulation of Northern Ireland’s charities and stop paramilitaries and criminal gangs ripping off the public will be revealed by the government today. The draft legislation, which is to be put out for consultation today by the Department for Social Development, is expected to include the establishment of a Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and a province-wide Register of Charities, making charitable organisations more accountable and transparent. It is thought that the proposals will make it tougher for bogus charities to operate, while also offering greater support to legitimate charitable bodies.

Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust have advertised a tender for the DBFO of a new acute hospital facility on the outskirts of Enniskillen to be built under the PFI. The project will see the provision of approximately 300 beds in a modern acute health care service, which will also include some community care service.

One-in-four Europeans is likely to experience mental health problems at some point in their lives, and over 27% of European adults are affected by mental ill health each year, according to a new report. The EU report found that depression and anxiety disorders, including stress, are the most common mental health problems experienced, and studies reveal that by 2020,neuropsychiatric disorders, with depression at the top of the list, will be the highest-ranking cause of illness in the developed world.

A quarter of the places in the State’s remand centres for under-16-year-olds charged with criminal offences are being used by children awaiting placements in suitable residential care units, it has emerged. At the Dublin Children’s Court today, Judge Leo Malone was told that there were 16 remand places for young people under the age of 16.

Most of us are used to reports which state that Irish people are the biggest drinkers in Europe. However new research has found that the amount of alcohol being consumed by adults in Ireland has decreased in recent years.The research from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) is based on information supplied by the Central Statistics Office and the Revenue Commissioners. According to the findings, the amount of alcohol being consumed by adults fell by almost 7% between 2001 and 2005.

Ulster’s female politicians last night rallied to support the Belfast Rape Crisis Centre after a Government threat to withdraw its funding. They threw their weight behind the centre, dedicated to helping victims of rape and sexual violence, after it emerged it may close if funding is stopped. The department yesterday threatened to withdraw the £66,000 annual funding as the organisation’s “continued failure to meet Government accounting requirements” had left it with “no other option”.

Last year, the Inspector of Mental Health Services, Dr Teresa Carey, published her first annual report. It contained details of all of the inspections she had carried out in 2004 and noted a ‘range of issues’ that were having a ‘serious negative effect’ on the quality of services available to people in Ireland with mental health problems. Now one year on, her second annual report has been published. It looks at all inspections carried out in 2005.

An Ulster woman who waited 18 months in agony for desperately needed rheumatoid arthritis wonder drugs, has gone to the House of Commons – to campaign for a better deal for patients across the UK. Armed with a five-point action plan, Hazel Mark was one of 10 women urging the Government to provide more cash for life-changing treatment such as Remicade and Enbrel. As part of their campaign, Hazel (38), from Ballymena, and other women were interviewed by MPs throughout the UK for a special book on the condition.