A government-backed positive-parenting campaign should be launched to help carers develop alternatives to slapping, a charity said yesterday. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children urged the Irish government to show its support for parents by launching a state-funded campaign to help people use the most effective parenting methods.

Ulster’s jailed rapists have been spending, on average, less than four years behind bars, it can be revealed today. While the average sentence for rape handed down by Northern Ireland’s courts from 1999 to 2003 was seven and a half years, the controversial 50% remission policy here meant that rapists were automatically freed after serving, on average, slightly more than three years. Statistics released by Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson, in response to a parliamentary question, show that over that five year period 52 people were convicted and jailed for rape. During that time the highest annual average sentence passed down by the courts was eight years.

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.

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.)

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”.