BBC NI’s Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison speaks to three people abused at institutions run by the Catholic Church in the Republic of Ireland.

A Northern Ireland woman who was sexually abused by a priest when she was just six years old has described the Ryan report as “too little, too late”.

Support group CARI has expressed its concerned that today’s publication of the Child Abuse Commission may lead the public into a false sense of security that such abuses are a thing of the past.

Children’s groups say the entire child protection system needs to be overhauled in light of the Dunne family tragedy in Monageer.

Less than a year after nursing staff across the UK voiced fears about welfare because there was not enough staff to help patients feed themselves, it has emerged that almost two thirds of nurses in Northern Ireland have raised concerns about patient safety with their employers. New research published today has also indicated that in one of three of such cases, no subsequent action was taken by the hospitals’ management.

SOCIAL Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has promised there will be no job losses in Londonderry as part of a planned modernisation of the Social Security Agency.

More than one in 10 of Northern Ireland’s workforce is employed in the health and social care sector. Almost 78,000 people, including casual staff, are employed in health – making it NI’s single largest workforce.

Speaking in advance of Monday’s Assembly debate on plans to axe 722 nursing posts from Northern Ireland’s health service, Royal College of Nursing [RCN] Northern Ireland Director Mary Hinds has urged Assembly members to support any proposals to exempt or reduce the impact on the health service of the efficiency targets required under the Comprehensive Spending Review [CSR].

A proposal to close a psychiatric inpatient unit in south Belfast has been rejected by the health trust. It was suggested the Windsor House unit would close before a new facility was built. However, the trust said it will stay open until the new unit is ready.

The public body which runs Northern Ireland’s multi-million pound legal aid scheme has admitted that a three-month dispute with family barristers over pay could begin to affect care services for vulnerable children.