Record €1.6 Billion Mental Health Budget Announced for 2026

Dublin, 8 October 2025 — Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler TD has unveiled a landmark investment in mental health services under Budget 2026, with a record allocation of €1.6 billion and the recruitment of an unprecedented 300 additional staff. The package places a strong emphasis on crisis supports and suicide prevention, with over €15 […]

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Ireland: Government Announces Record €27.4bn Health Budget for 2026

Dublin, 8 October 2025 – The Government has unveiled a record €27.4 billion health budget for 2026, marking a 6.2% increase (€1.5bn) on the previous year. Ministers say the investment will drive faster, fairer access to healthcare while embedding long-term reforms in the Irish health service. The funding was announced today by Minister for Health […]

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The mental toll of menopause – what women really feel

[ad_1] Hormonal changes during menopause can drive suicidal thoughts – a crisis that healthcare services have failed to recognise or adequately address. The devastating link is laid bare in research my colleagues and I conducted recently. The study, which involved interviews with 42 women who experienced suicidal thoughts and behaviour during perimenopause or menopause, exposes […]

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First-of-its-kind study on impact of vaping on respiratory health – UKRI

[ad_1] Over 200 people from Birmingham will be invited to participate in a research project to consider the benefits and harms of vaping for long term respiratory health. Studies before it considered effects on lung health at a single timepoint, but this study will examine the effect of long-term vaping on the respiratory system over […]

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how a hidden army in your body keeps you alive – and could help treat cancer

[ad_1] The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine celebrates a discovery that answers one of medicine’s most profound questions: how does the immune system know when to attack, and when to stand down? Most of the time, our defences target dangerous infections and even cancers while leaving the body’s own tissues unharmed. But when […]

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WHO: Despite smoking decline, tobacco still hooks one in five adults worldwide

[ad_1] That’s according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest report on tobacco use published on Monday which analyses smoking trends from 2010 to 2024 and concludes the epidemic is far from over. Tobacco use has fallen from 26.2 per cent in 2010 to 19.5 per cent last year – and the UN health agency predicts […]

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How extreme temperatures strain minds and bodies: a Karachi case study

[ad_1] When the daytime air feels like an oven and night brings no relief, people in Karachi, Pakistan, say the heat “goes straight to the head”. They mean more than dizziness or sweat. It’s the creeping panic of a body that cannot cool down: restless nights, frayed tempers, a household on edge. Here, a heatwave […]

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Haiti battles rabies with vaccines and vigilance

[ad_1] Last July, in the remote locality of Butête, in southern Haiti, nine-year-old Jonas* lost his life to rabies. When a stray dog bit the boy on the leg, the wound seemed minor. Like many families living far from any health facilities, his mother was unaware that immediate care was critical. Within a week, the […]

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Why many stroke survivors struggle with numbers

[ad_1] Numbers are all around us. In the morning, we wake up to an alarm that tells us it’s time to get out of bed. When deciding what to wear, we often check the temperature outside. We count out the vitamins or prescription pills we need to take while eating our breakfast, we estimate how […]

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Why it’s time to rethink the notion of an autism ‘spectrum’

[ad_1] The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”. The term was coined in the 1980s by psychiatrist Dr Lorna Wing, whose work transformed how autism was understood in the UK. At the time, her […]

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