News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

The reopening of the orthopaedic elective ward at the Midlands Regional hospital, Tullamore was warmly welcomed.

Sinn Fein councilor, Brendan Killeavy, believes the funding was secured from the new Special Delivery Unit, which has replaced the National Treatment Purchase Fund [NTPF] to carry out approximately 100 knee and hip replacement operations at the hospital in Tullamore between now and the end of the year.

“This is very good news for patients and for the hospital, which will see theatres and beds reopen to facilitate these operations. I have been campaigning on this issue for several years, arguing that public monies should be used in public hospitals as much as possible, and not in private hospitals where the cost to the taxpayer is much greater and there is no after care provided for the patient in the private hospitals.”

While welcoming the news, Cllr Killeavy is still requesting a meeting with hospital management to clarification on what level of services are going to be provided to members of the public at the hospital given that the hospital is in a financial deficit so far this year.
(Source: Offaly Express)

Roscommon

Gardaí are investigating the discovery of woman tied up and gagged in a house in Co Roscommon, who they believe had been there for at least a number of days.

Garda sources said the woman, who is in her 50s, was found at a house in Anvil Court at 1am last week.

The investigating team are trying to establish if the incident is linked to the death of a man in a fall from the Cliffs of Moher in recent days.

A man in his 40s entered the water at the Cliffs of Moher before his body was recovered by Doolin coast guard.

As part of their efforts to establish the man’s identity, gardaí went to the house at Anvil Court, where they unexpectedly found the woman.

She had been assaulted and tied up. The injured woman was known to the dead man.

The woman was taken to Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe for treatment. She is still receiving medical care.
(Source: The Roscommon Champion)

Sligo

In another move toward the ultimate closure of the Stiefel skin-products plant in Finisklin Industrial Estate in Sligo, 51 jobs - 20 of them through compulsory redundancies - will be lost between now and the end of February.

According to Stiefel, the company's preference was to ensure that all redundancy rounds were voluntary. Following the approval of 31 voluntary redundancy applications, the company on Friday last announced 20 compulsory redundancies.

More redundancies will be announced in stages until final plant closure in two years time. Stiefel has been in Sligo since 1975 and employed 250 people.

They are to cease operations at the Sligo plant by the end of 2013.
(Source: The Sligo Champion)

Tipperary

A Thurles woman has died following a tragic accident last week in Thurles. Bridie Corbett, from Kennedy Park, died as a result of injuries she sustained in a road traffic accident on Friar Street, between 2.30pm and 3pm on Thursday last week (November 17th).

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Nster.com