Over 130 convicted sex offenders are due to walk free from jail halfway through their sentence while the Government continues to deliberate over legislation to replace Ulster’s controversial 50% remission policy, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the DPP to try a 70-year-old priest on charges of indecently assaulting a teenage girl in the north-east in the early 1980s. It overturned a ruling by the High Court which stated that the prosecutorial delays were inexcusable.

The chief executive of the National Cancer Screening Service has said there needs to be increased equality of access to cancer treatment services across the country.

A new study has reportedly found that large numbers of Irish adults have used sedatives, tranquilisers or anti-depressant drugs.

A sister of former Irish rugby international Victor Costello will be unveiled today as the first all-Ireland director of the Samaritans. Dubliner Suzanne Costello will oversee the charity’s 21 branches and 1,856 volunteers on both sides of the Border.

The DHSSPS has released details of the Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) Workforce at 31 March 2006.

A protest will be staged outside Leinster House today as Sinn Féin launches its action week on health. Challenging the Minister for Health Mary Harney’s seat in the forthcoming election, Sinn Féin Dublin Mid West candidate Joanne Spain will unveil the party’s plans.

A recent survey on sexual health service needs aims to help groups provide better assistance for young people in north and west Belfast. Commissioned by the Health Action Zone, the findings help to point up any gaps in the current provision.

University of Ulster academics have teamed up with a local charity to produce a support package for parents of children with autism. Simple Steps, which will contain a DVD, as well as hard copy support material for those living with autism and professionals treating it, is the first of its kind in Europe.

A 34-year-old Georgian national has been jailed for ten years for raping and falsely imprisoning a Polish woman in Kerry on her second night in the country.