Author name: oisinkelly

The five-day moving average of new Covid-19 cases has dropped by 12% in the past week. It’s now back to levels seen at the end of last month, while just 104 patients were in hospitals with the disease last night – the lowest since September. There’s been a slight increase in the number of infectious

Plans to give adopted people the right to access their birth certificates are expected to be approved by Cabinet this morning. Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman is bringing proposed Birth Information and Tracing legislation before his government colleagues. It’s expected the legislation will change the long standing situation where the right to privacy of the birth

Donegal County Council’s Mica Redress Committee is to meet in special session on Thursday morning after up to 200 people took part in a protest in Carndonagh yesterday. A spokesperson for the protestors claimed that the contractors on the site at which they were protesting are sourcing blocks from a company which previously provided mica

Pilot events for music and sport could begin next month, according to the Minister for Arts. Catherine Martin says they will be held in small and large venues throughout the country, both indoor and outdoor. She says antigen tests will play a role in the events. Minister Martin says she hopes people will be able

The Chief Medical Officer says he expects to give advice to government on the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by the end of the week. Use of the jab has been limited to over 50s due to concerns over rare blood clots. The government is now reviewing proposals to change this, so the

The Tánaiste says he’d like to see a return to the common travel area between Britain and Ireland as soon as possible. Leo Varadkar says he’d like to see it happen before travel is allowed within the EU. Mr Varadkar says that Ireland will be taking part in the digital passport programme and predicts a

There are calls for an eye clinic to be established in Letterkenny. Up to 15,000 people from Donegal currently have to travel to Sligo to attend an eye clinic. Councillor Ian McGarvey says for some, particularly the older generation, the journey is just not feasible. He says for people needing eye injections, treatment needs to

A decision to ban cycling on a popular walkway in Moville was taken in the interests of safety. Councillor Martin Farren says he requested signage be erected on Moville Green, banning cycling on pathways following concerns raised by locals. Chair of the Green Party in Donegal Michael White criticised the move and called for it

An Inishowen Councillor is seeking an urgent meeting with the Housing Minister to discuss ongoing concerns over the Mica redress scheme. Issues for Mica affected homeowners in Donegal in accessing the scheme have been repeatedly highlighted locally and nationally. After a lengthy campaign, the announcement of the scheme was widely welcomed but a number of

A Donegal County Councillor has hit out at the Government’s decision not to increase the funding allocation for the county under the retrofitting programme. Donegal County Council was awarded a grant of €1.2 million under the scheme which will only cover costs to retrofit a fraction of the 5,500 houses in the local authority’s housing

A major relaxing of Covid restrictions gets underway today for the first time this year, with 12 thousand businesses expected to reopen this week. Travel across counties and haircuts are allowed, as well as click and collect. Religious services are also permitted, and galleries, museums and libraries are also back open. Leah Fairman, Manager, Ballybofey

The Taoiseach’s urging people to “keep their guard up” as the country reopens this week. From tomorrow people will be able to get their hair cut, with the return of personal services, places of worship will reopen, click and collect will resume and larger outdoor gatherings will be allowed. Micheál Martin says the potential for

Sinn Fein’s calling for a ban on the block purchase of residential properties by international investment funds. It’s bringing a motion before the Dail this week which will also demand funds pay ‘appropriate’ levels of tax. It comes as some affordable housing bodies are being outbid by international investment funds by up to 80,000 euro

Some people who’ve expressed concern about getting a particular Covid-19 vaccine have been told by the HSE’s helpline to ask their GP for a different jab. That’s according to Dr Illona Duffy, a GP in Monaghan, who says this is a breach of HSE policy. Currently, there are age limits on the AstraZeneca and Johnson

The Road Safety Authority says it will be making online theory tests available to all drivers later this month. Over 100 thousand people are now waiting to sit the test after centres had to close during the Level 5 lockdown. At the moment, online assessments are only available to people who are sitting exams to

An advocacy group for vulnerable adults says it’s “cautious” about the removal of serial Covid testing in nursing homes. The HSE’s to stop carrying out mass testing in homes that meet strict criteria in relation to vaccination rates among residents and staff. Data shows nursing homes with high levels of vaccination have a positivity rate

The introduction of mandatory hotel quarantine has led to no new Covid variants being detected in Ireland. HPSC figures show the number of cases of the Brazilian and South African strains reached 30 at the end of March. But that figure fell to zero in the last week of April, when the system was in

There has been a negative response to signs that have been placed along the green in Moville banning cycling on the pathways. Many believe the pathways to be one of the safest places in the area for children to cycle and has been used for cycling for a number of years. Chairperson of Green Party

The number of Covid-19 patients in public hospitals has halved in the past month. It dropped to 111 last night – the lowest since September 27th. Four hospitals have only one Covid patient and seven have none at all. The number of infectious Covid-19 cases in Letterkenny University Hospital is down to 4. Former HSE

Thousands of people got up in the rain and wind this morning to raise funds for Pieta House. The suicide prevention charity’s described the weather for Darkness Into Light as “challenging for a challenging year”. Participants walked, ran, swam or hiked on their own or in their social bubble. More than 6 million euro has