The NSPCC has called for urgent action to support Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Northern Ireland. This news comes as the charity, which runs ChildLine, has revealed that some young children attempted suicide while trying to contact the helpline.

A high-risk sex offender who has been missing since last week, has been detained by police in Garvagh, County Londonderry. Robert Wallace, 78, who was residing in Belfast had not been seen since Thursday morning, despite attempts to locate him.

A new study due to be published by the Government tomorrow is reportedly set to highlight alarming levels of drug use among Irish schoolgirls.

Supporters of Seymour House have vowed to oppose this week’s decision by Down Lisburn Trust to close the elderly care home. On Wednesday the Trust recommended the home in Dunmurry close. However the decision is still to be agreed by the Health Minister.

The government has announced it has asked a Senior Counsel to examine files in the case of Cynthia Owen to see if further action is required. Earlier this month an inquest ruled that Ms Owen was the mother of a baby girl found stabbed to death in Dun Laoghaire in 1973. Cynthia Owen had called for a full public inquiry into the case.

A 38-year-old man is still being questioned by gardaí following the seizure of cannabis in Dublin. In excess of 160kg of cannabis with a potential street value of €1.2m was

The Government is to crack down on teen alcohol abuse, following the publication of the latest European survey. The report shows we have one of the highest rates of binge-drinking among 15-year-olds. Ireland ranks third out of 33 surveyed countries.

The proprietors of the Enniscrone private nursing home – issued with a damning report by the HSE after an unannounced inspection – claim they face closure if forced to implement major changes ordered within the required time-frame.

Police were last night hunting for a high risk sex offender who has gone on the run for the second time in seven months. The public alarm was raised after 78-year-old Robert Simpson Wallace, who police said poses a serious risk to women and children, breached his probation conditions by going missing on Thursday.

CURA, the Catholic Church’s crisis pregnancy counselling service, is holding its 30th annual conference this weekend. The organisation is currently locked in negotiations with the state-run Crisis Pregnancy Agency, who funds CURA to the tune of about €600,000 a year.