A man who used his position as a youth club leader to sexually abuse two young brothers walked into a police station to confess, a court heard yesterday.

Nurses and health service employers are to begin talks today under the aegis of the National Implementation Body. The discussions will centre on demands by nurses for a ten per cent pay increase and a reduction in their working week.

Nurses are due to continue their campaign for better pay and conditions with an hour-long protest outside the Mater Hospital in Dublin this lunchtime. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign by the Irish Nurses Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association in pursuit of their demands.

A candidate in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections is being questioned about the attempted murder of a UDR man over 25 years ago. Gerry McGeough, 46, an independent republican and former IRA prisoner was arrested yesterday in a town centre car park in Omagh, Co Tyrone.

Cocaine use is continuing to rise, crossing all social strata and affecting every region, according to a new report. The report, from the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) and the National Drugs Strategy Team, published yesterday, draws on several sources to conclude that cocaine use in the Republic is on the increase.

The Government has taken the first step towards creating a court of appeal to take over much of the workload of the Supreme Court. The new court would relieve much of the backlog in the Supreme Court by taking on most of the appeals from the High Court, leaving the Supreme Court to focus on constitutional issues.

The High Court has awarded €250,000 compensation to a Garda who was “immeasurably” traumatised as a result of finding the bodies of a young garda and soldier in Derrada Wood near Ballinamore in Co Leitrim in 1983 after a shoot-out with the kidnappers of supermarket boss Don Tidey.

The Equality Commission in Northern Ireland has claimed that pregnant women are being forced out of their jobs as part of the worst alleged gender discrimination.

Concerns over Ulster’s controversial approach to fugitive prisoners increased again today after it was revealed that a violent offender went missing from jail twice in five years.

An upset mother has spoken to Northside People of the hurt and frustration she feels about the public’s treatment of her young son who has a rare skin disorder.