A round-up of other stories in brief.
Crematorium planned for Cork region
Cork County Council has given planning permission for the first crematorium in the Republic outside Dublin. Strikemount Ltd is to build the crematorium on Rocky Island in Cork Harbour at a cost of €2.5 million.
At present when cremation is required, undertakers from Munster and south Leinster take bodies to Glasnevin, Newlands Cross or Mount Jerome cemeteries. About 20 per cent of bodies in the Dublin area are cremated.
Rocky Island was built in the early 19th century to store gunpowder for the naval base at Haulbowline. The magazine consisted of two identical buildings, one of which remains. The developers plan to convert this building into a spiritual space and crematorium.
The island was unoccupied from the 1920s until purchased by Irish Steel in 1964, when the Haulbowline Bridge was constructed. The company used it for storage and as a checkpoint for trucks going on to Haulbowline Island until the company went into liquidation in 2001.
Harney assurance on Ennis hospital
Minister for Health Mary Harney said yesterday there was no question of downgrading A&E or any other service at Ennis Hospital.
In Co Clare to open a number of healthcare facilities, Ms Harney said: "I have just allocated €21 million towards upgrading the Ennis Hospital, including the A&E facility and the wards. I would not have not done that if there was any question of withdrawing services or downgrading services. What we want to see happening in this region is that all the hospitals, led by Limerick Regional, work together in the interests of patients."
Breast cancer progress claimed
Adding a new form of treatment to chemotherapy can reduce by 51 per cent the chance of breast cancer recurring in women with a particular type of the disease, researchers said yesterday. The claim was made by the Breast Cancer International Research Group following phase-three clinical trials of the effectiveness of herceptin in combination with chemotherapy.
Approximately 3,200 patients across 43 countries were involved in the trials, including 127 patients in the Republic.
The treatment reduces the risk of breast cancer recurring when it is given to patients with early-stage Her2-positive breast cancer, the researchers found. It is a particularly aggressive form of the disease which affects up to 30 per cent of women with breast cancer. Each year approximately 2,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the Republic and more than 600 people die from the disease.
Dublin woman challenges Avon
An Avon lady called on a High Court judge yesterday for leave to mount a legal challenge to a decision by her employer. Mary Davey, Monalea Wood, Firhouse, Dublin, told Mr Justice Barry White that Avon Products Inc, New York, was attempting to reduce her 20,000 home sales area.
Ms Davey was granted leave to serve Avon with short notice of her intention to bring a motion to the High Court on Wednesday seeking legal restraints.