A round-up of other home news in brief
Cork-made cancer drug 'offers hope'
The Cork-based manufacturers of a new breast cancer drug claim it offers hope to hundreds of Irish patients for whom other treatments have stopped working. The new GlaxoSmithKline drug Lapatinib (with the market name of Tyverb) targets a specific type of breast cancer known as ErbB2-positive, which accounts for about 25-30 per cent of all breast cancers and is being targeted at women with advanced breast cancers who have exhausted all other therapeutic options.
Tyberg is being solely manufactured by GSK at the company's facility at Currabinny, Co Cork.
Murder accused fails to appear
One of two men from Creggan, Derry, who is on bail charged with murdering a Co Donegal teenager in the estate last year, failed to turn up at the local Magistrate's Court yesterday for a preliminary inquiry into the murder.
Edward McEleney, (21), Circular Road, is jointly charged with Sean Cruickshank, (20), Lislane Drive, of murdering Liam Anthony Devlin from Bridgend, Co Donegal, on August 4th 2007.
Their joint preliminary inquiry was due to have taken place yesterday. However a prosecution lawyer told District Judge Barney McElholm police have so far been unable to locate the Mr McEleney.
Mr McElholm adjourned the inquiry until February to give the police more time to find Mr McEleney.
Minister defends bed closures
The closure for two months of infusion beds used by rheumatology patients at Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross, Dublin, will not result in any patient being denied treatment, Minister for Health Mary Harney said yesterday.
The hospice announced on Friday it has to reduce some services it is providing to rheumatology and older patients due to pressure to cut costs. It has to save €850,000 by the end of the year and from next week 34 of the 46 beds in its rheumatology rehabilitation unit and 11 of the 13 beds in its community rehabilitation unit will be closed until the second week in January.
Ms Harney said the cost of the medication from now to the end of the year for the 39 patients who required infusions was about €180,000 and there was no question of them not getting the treatment, it was just a question of where it would be provided.
Call to protect Raheny church
Dublin City Council has been asked to list St Assam's Church, Raheny as a protected structure, following an announcement that the parish pastoral council was considering its disposal. Yesterday the pastoral council said it was "looking at all options" on the future of the church.
The 19th century church has been used by the community for local events and meetings for the past 30 years, after it was replaced as the parish church.