Author name: oisinkelly

The vaccination portal for 30 to 34 year-olds will open towards the end of next week. The HSE has also confirmed 18 to 49 year olds will have a choice of vaccine. The official advice is those age groups should be offered an mRNA option – but they can opt to have AstraZeneca or Johnson […]

The PRO of the Mica Action Group says a public inquiry into the Mica scandal will be important, but the immediate priority is to ensure 100% redress. Michael Doherty was speaking to Highland Radio in the wake of yeasterday’s inaugural meeting of the Working Group established by Minister Darragh O’Brien following last month’s massive demonstration

Funding put in place to provide for rigorous infection control measures in nursing homes is no longer available as of today. South Donegal Deputy Marian Harkin says it is unacceptable that the funding is being withdrawn when infection rates are rising leading to visiting restrictions being imposed on centres. The HSE announced yesterday that visiting

A Donegal Restaurant owner is travelling to Dublin on Monday to stand with others in the industry as part of a demonstration against the delay to the opening of indoor dining. The group will gather outside Leinster House at 2pm to highlight to Government the fallout of the decision this week. Linda Boyle, Co-Owner of

Over 100 people are set to be employed when Lifford Greyhound Stadium reopens later this year. Last week, Greyhound Racing Ireland granted a licence to the Lifford Greyhound Racing Club following a lengthy process whereby the Board considered a range of submissions from the club along with a detailed business plan. The track will move

The Donegal Fire Service is appealing to people to exercise caution when outdoors. It follows a Condition Orange – High Fire Risk warning being issued by the Department of Agriculture. It’s warned that wildfires can have catastrophic impacts on upland habitats and rural communities, putting homes, property and lives at risk and diverting emergency services

There are calls for urgent progress to be made on dredging efforts at Magheroarty pier. Cllr Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says despite a submission for a licence to dredge the pier being submitted by Donegal County Council in January, progress has yet to be made. He says the build-up of sand at the pier is

The HSE is no longer offering vaccine appointments to people who refuse them 3 times. It says the new policy will help speed up the rollout and reduce the risk of any possible vaccine wastage. Anyone who wants a further appointment will need to contact HSE-Live and ask to be reinstated. Consultant in Infectious Diseases,

A Donegal Deputy has warned the Government cannot continue to ‘bury the truth’ in terms of mother and baby homes. Deputy Thomas Pringle in the Dail repeated his call for mother and baby home burial sites to be protected under County Development Plans. He says the state and local authorities should be proactively examining sites,

Councillor Jack Murray has been elected as the new Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council. The Sinn Fein Councillor takes over from fellow Inishowen Councillor Rena Donaghey. Councllor Donaghey during her closing speech said the Mica pandemic must consume all political energy going forward. Something that Councillor Murray says will be high on his agenda in

  The EU has formally agreed to a British request to extend a grace period for the supply of chilled meats to Northern Ireland. Additional proposals have also been made to deal with the supply of medicines to the North and other day to day issues for people there. EU Commission vice-president, Maros Sefcovic, says

Deputy Thomas Pringle has called on the Government to change their approach to providing housing in County Donegal. Speaking in the Dail yesterday, Deputy Pringle criticised the Government’s approach to delivering housing in County Donegal, as well as the role or lack thereof the County Council can play in the process. He also criticised the

The Mica Action Group has described the meeting it had with the Housing Minister and other stakeholders on the mica and pyrite scandal today as “positive”. Representatives from local authorities and the Department of Housing also attended the online meeting. The group is set to review the defective block compensation scheme and suggest changes, including

The trial of the man accused of murdering 28 year old Buncrana woman Danielle McLaughlin in Goa in March 2017 will recommence next month. Vikat Bhagat had applied for bail, citing a bleak likelihood of a trial taking place in the near future due to the prevailing pandemic condition. That was opposed by Ms McLaughlin’s

Irish Water has been granted planning permission to install a sewage treatment plant at Ray, close to Brownknowe National School near Rathmullan. Permission has been confirmed despite significant local opposition to the plans. Declan Meehan Chairperson of Ray Action Group has acknowledged that there is a need to treat the wastewater coming from Rathmullan and

Mica campaigners in Donegal say their demands for 100 percent redress for affected homes cannot be ignored any longer. It comes as the Mica Working Group’s first meeting gets underway later, with the Taoiseach and Housing Minister will be in attendance. Working group member Paddy Diver say homeowners in Donegal and Mayo have been ignored

The Delta variant of Covid-19 will ‘almost certainly’ be dominant here in two weeks’ time, according to the director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory. Dr Cillian De Gascun says it made up less than 9 per cent of cases between June 7th and 13th, but rose to up to 55 per cent last week.

Over a fifth of septic tanks inspected last year were a risk to human health or the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency says over 800 tests were carried out by local authorities in 2020, 54% of which failed. In Donegal, 60 tests took place, with a failure rate of 30%. Between 2013 and 2020, 231

A working group, set up to tackle the mica and pyrite building blocks controversy, will meet for the first time later today. The 12 person group includes affected homeowners from Donegal and Mayo, local authority representatives and the Department of Housing. The Taoiseach and Housing Minister are also expected to be in attendance for the

The National Broadband Plan needs to be accelerated as a matter of urgency, a meeting of Lifford Stranorlar Municipal District has been told. The comment was made by Cllr Gary Doherty after a progress report was delivered which he says can be best described as ‘disappointing’. Members were told the NBP will invest €135m in

A West Donegal councillor says a concerted effort must be made to secure funding for a walkway along the Dunfanaghy-Creeslough viaducts, where the old railway track once ran. Cllr John Sheamais Ó Fearraigh says the addition of a rope-bridge or other bridge-type structure where the dilapidated viaducts now stand would be a welcome tourist attraction