A zero tolerance policy is required to tackle drug-related suicide in Belfast, the Lord Mayor said yesterday.

The Government will today be called on to give more support to carers across Ireland. The Carers Association will present its pre-Budget submission to TD’s and Senators, where it will highlight the Government’s need to implement a committed national carers strategy.

A survey from the charity Barnardos shows that almost 80% of parents interviewed feel children are less safe today than they were during their own childhood.

National elderly-support group Age Action tonight called on workers in the medical services to expose ageist practices within the sector.

Anti-drug activists today launched an online map of services for drug-users and their families in Dublin in an attempt to highlight that help is at hand.

A leading Ulster psychologist last night described psychiatric provision in Northern Ireland as “fragmented and chaotic”.

A Belfast social worker has been struck off the Social Care Register for having an inappropriate personal relationship with a convicted sex offender.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey and Criminal Justice Minister Paul Goggins joined forces today to signal their commitment to work together to tackle ” the heinous crime of domestic violence”.

Youth workers are today criticising the alcohol industry’s voluntary advertising code, saying it is too weak and is not being fully adhered to.

Psychiatric nurses are resisting cost-cutting plans to transfer female psychiatric patients to a male ward.