A round-up of today's stories in brief.
Baby found four years ago to be adopted
An infant found abandoned in the car park of a Cork hospital over four years ago is due to be formally adopted by her foster parents today after the child's natural mother failed to respond to an appeal for her to come forward, writes Barry Roche.
The HSE applied for an order from the High Court last year to allow the foster family who have cared for the now four-year-old girl for a number of years to adopt the child. Such a move would deprive the natural mother of any rights in relation to the child.
The High Court ordered the HSE to place an advertisement in the paper inviting the natural mother of the baby or anyone on her behalf to contact a firm of solicitors in Cork to lay claim to the child before today, but as of last night no one has come forward.
The child, who was only a few days old when she was abandoned, was found in a sports bag left in the boot of a car in the South Infirmary Victoria Hospital in Cork on October 13th, 2003.
CF facilities are speeded up
Some 14 single rooms for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients will now be in place at Dublin's St Vincent's hospital by the end of the summer, the Health Service Executive said last night.
It claimed six of these would be available for use by April or May.
Only last week the head of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm, said it could take until next year to deliver on an interim plan to address the lack of isolation facilities for CF patients at the hospital, which puts them at risk of picking up infections.
The Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland said it could not wait that long.
Last night the HSE said it had come up with a faster solution. A ward in the hospital would be refurbished within weeks to provide six single rooms.
Work would then begin on redeveloping another area of the hospital to provide an additional eight single rooms for CF patients.
Worker struck by falling bricks dies
A construction worker died yesterday after being struck by falling bricks.
The incident happened on a building site in Main Street, Fintona, Co Tyrone.
The 61-year-old victim, from nearby Omagh, died in hospital. The North's Health and Safety Executive and police are investigating.
Woman still held for questioning
A woman arrested on Thursday as part of the investigation into the murder of Donna Cleary in Coolock, Dublin, almost two years ago was still being questioned last night.
Ms Cleary, a 22-year-old mother of one, died after a gunman opened fire on a house party at Adare Green, Coolock, on March 5th, 2006.
Gardaí believe the 24-year-old woman arrested in Whitehall on Thursday is the girlfriend of a man gardaí think was at the scene of the shooting with the gunman.
They believe the woman was given the gun to dispose of after Ms Cleary was shot dead. The woman was arrested at a house on Thatch Road, Whitehall, on Thursday morning.
Teenager collapses at athletics event
A teenage boy was described as being in a "serious condition" at Cork University Hospital (CUH) yesterday after he collapsed at an athletics event.
The 16-year-old fell to the ground in pain during an athletics meeting in the Midleton CBS school yesterday afternoon. He was transferred to CUH shortly after 1.30pm yesterday.
It is understood the teenager is a student of Mary Immaculata College in Dunmanway who was at the school for an athletics meeting. He had just finished a cross-country run when he collapsed.
His school teacher from Dunmanway performed first aid on him and a defibrillator was also used to revive him.