A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Ian Paisley has pacemaker fitted
Former first minister and DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley – Lord Bannside – has had a pacemaker inserted after he took ill in the House of Lords last week.
Ian Paisley jnr, who succeeded him as MP for North Antrim, said his father recovered well after becoming ill last Wednesday and was back working by Monday.
Following the insertion of the pacemaker, Lord Bannside joked he was now “turbo-charged”, said Mr Paisley jnr.
Mr Paisley said his father planned to be back at the House of Lords in March. He said the pacemaker should last for 15 years, when Lord Bannside would be just short of his 100th birthday. He will be 85 in April.
Lord Bannside was seriously ill in 2003 and 2004, a period when the then Dr Paisley admitted he “walked in death’s shadow”. He recovered and agreed a historic powersharing deal in 2007 with Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams and entered into the Northern Executive as first minister and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.
Co Leitrim woman found safe and well
A Co Leitrim woman who was missing for six days was found safe and well yesterday in Dublin.
Caitríona Horan (22) from Drumkeeran was found on Dawson Street yesterday just hours after gardaí released CCTV footage of her taken in the Rowan Tree Hostel in Ennis, Co Clare, at 2.30pm on Saturday last.
Ms Horan disappeared last Wednesday after saying goodbye to a friend outside the gates of Trinity College Dublin.
A Garda spokesman said they had received a “huge response” to appeals for information, and her disappearance had been a “misunderstanding”.
INMO to partake in student pay review
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said it will take part in an official review of the controversial decision to abolish payments for student nurses during their mandatory placement in hospitals.
However, the INMO said yesterday that the review, which was announced last week by Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Coughlan, was “wholly inadequate”. The INMO is to hold a protest march and rally in Dublin today.
Student nurses and midwives get about 80 per cent of the pay of a staff nurse during their 36-week placement period. The Government in December announced plans to phase out these payments over the next three years and to eliminate them from 2015. Last week Ms Coughlan announced a review of the rationale for the abolition of the payments.