A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
MEETING SOUGHT WITH JUNIOR MINISTER:The Irish College of Psychiatrists (ICP) is to seek a meeting with junior health minister Tim O'Malley to discuss what it says are "some of the issues pertaining to psychiatry, which recently emerged in the media".
Its chairwoman, Dr Kate Ganter, wrote a letter to the Minister yesterday, seeking to respond to his comments on waiting lists and announcements on funding for psychiatric services. "To indicate that waiting lists 'make us feel powerful' is untrue," said Dr Ganter.
"In fact, the direct opposite to what you said is the truth. As doctors and carers we carry the burden of waiting lists at the coalface - as we must take the calls from families who cannot be seen and should be seen by a specialist."
Dr Ganter said her organisation was very disappointed with the recent funding announcement. "Less than €8 million will have little impact on the waiting lists for young people and adolescents - and regrettably we have had to say this publicly."
Dr Ganter said the child and adolescent psychiatric services required significant staffing, facilities and financial inputs - "all of which have been articulated to you". The letter added that they would be very pleased to meet Mr O'Malley to discuss all "related" matters.
RESTAURANT FINED:A London restaurant popular with celebrity clients was ordered to pay more than £11,500 yesterday after claiming standard meat was organic.
Julie's Restaurant in London's Holland Park listed sausages, roast chicken and rack of lamb as organic when they were not.
Environmental health officers realised there were no delivery notes to back up the organic claims while carrying out a routine inspection.
The restaurant had not been supplied with any organic meat between October 1st and November 21st last year, environmental health officers found.
The restaurant could have saved nearly £4,200 buying standard chicken instead of organic during that period, according to environmental health officers' calculations.
MATER DEVICE TARGETS CANCER:The Mater Private Hospital, which says it is the Republic's largest private radiotherapy centre, said yesterday it would be offering patients the latest in advanced radiotherapy treatments with the arrival of a new, linear accelerator, claiming it is "the most advanced of its kind in the world".
The hospital said that by targeting cancer tumours with millimetre accuracy, the device allows radiotherapy doses to be increased without penalty to surrounding normal tissue, thereby shortening treatment times and improving patient's quality of life.
The device, called a Clinac iX accelerator, will enable advanced image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) treatments that enable doctors to better target the tumour and reduce side effects, it said.
SCHOOL HEART AWARDS:Two secondary schools in Ballinasloe, Co Galway have become the first Heartsafe schools in the State.
The Heartsafe award is certified by the Irish Heart Foundation and means that the schools have completed the recommended steps to provide an "optimum emergency response system" should someone suffer a sudden cardiac arrest on site.
The schools are Ardscoil Mhuire girls school, which has 444 pupils and 40 staff, and St Joseph's College boys school which has 475 pupils and 46 staff.
Around 80 staff and 200 pupils, from both schools, have been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with 12 staff trained in the use of defibrillators.
About 10,000 people die from cardiovascular disease every year in Ireland and it is estimated that 5,000 of these deaths are from a sudden cardiac arrest.
Around 70 per cent of cardiac arrests in Ireland occur out of hospital in the community.
Nearby Roosky in Co Roscommon became the first Heartsafe village in the country earlier this year.
FAKE PILLS:Chinese authorities shut a factory producing fake birth-control pills out of starch and glucose and arrested one person. Tests found the pills were useless in preventing pregnancy and contained toxic ingredients, the Beijing News reported yesterday.