The Court of Criminal Appeal has ruled that a suspended sentence imposed on a former spiritual director of a Co Meath school for indecently assaulting young boys did not adequately recognise the seriousness of the offences or the consequences for the victims.

An elderly woman will have to travel almost 25 miles to visit her loved ones who are being relocated from St Margaret’s Nursing Home to Balbriggan. Seventy-eight-year-old Winnie Black and her sister regularly visit their sister Mary and her husband Jamesie Keogh, who have stayed in the St Margaret’s home for almost seven years.

The Government has published emergency legislation to close a loophole in the laws protecting children from sexual predators. The law is due to be passed by the Dáil tonight and the Seanad tomorrow.

A North Belfast mother spoke of her shock today after a gang of gunmen blasted up to ten shots at the front of her home – including one through her eldest child’s bedroom window.

A retired Co. Kerry farmer, who sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl after convincing her to get into his car, has been jailed for 12 months and placed on the sex offenders register by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

All political parties should commit to a radical reform of the way migrants are dealt with and supported, campaigners said today. In an election manifesto, the Immigrant Council of Ireland said a new ministerial post should be created with total control of immigration issues.

Two brothers in their 80s yesterday described how they attempted to fight off armed robbers who beat them in their own home. In the latest horrific crime against the elderly, three masked men, armed with a gun and a bat, entered the brothers’ house n Drumaness, where they proceeded to threaten the two brothers, Bill and Tommy Killen, ransack their home and flee with a sum of cash.

Minister of State Tom Parlon has outlined radical proposals to tackle the growing problem of social isolation in the country. Speaking at the Progressive Democrats conference Mr Parlon said social isolation was one of the most pressing challenges our country is facing today.

Politicians should develop a new child-friendly programme for government if the Assembly is restored. That is the call from Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI), the regional umbrella body for the children’s sector.

Nurses are set to unveil plans for a major escalation in industrial action as part of their campaign for improved pay and conditions. Around 40,000 nurses across the country are expected to boycott clerical, administrative, telephone and IT work from Monday of next week.