Author name: oisinkelly

Renewed calls to scrap proposal for sewage plant near national school

    There are renewed calls for a proposal to install a sewage treatment plant near a national school to be scrapped. It’s after revised plans were submitted by Irish Water to Donegal County Council to construct the plant close to Browneknowe National School near Rathmullan. A significant number of local residents are opposed to

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“Inevitable” people will travel to North when pubs reopen

  Publicans believe it’s “inevitable” that people living in border counties will travel to the North when the pubs reopen there. From April 30th, pubs in Northern Ireland are allowed to reopen for outdoor service. The Licensed Vintners Association is calling on the Government to allow outdoor service here for all pubs by the end

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“Difficult issues” still to be resolved with EU over NI protocol

  The UK government’s admitted “difficult issues” still need to be resolved with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol. The new process has been blamed for recent violence – as some Loyalists believe it’s weakened their place in the UK by putting up trade barriers with Britain. Some checks have been taking place in

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Businesses need roadmap on reopening urgently – Watson

  A Letterkenny businessman says people in retail and other sectors need a roadmap on reopening as a matter of urgency. It comes as Stormont Ministers announced a plan yesterday to relax Covid restrictions there which will see non-essential shops and gyms open on April 30th. From next Friday, hairdressers, barbers and outdoor sports can

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Covid numbers ‘better than anything we could have hoped for’

  Ireland’s current Covid-19 numbers are ‘better than anything we could have hoped for a few weeks ago’, according to the National Public Health Emergency Team. New cases of the virus have steadily dropped with 309 confirmed yesterday – bringing the five-day moving average to 358, down 12 percent on last week. 25 of the

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HSE at national level ‘doesn’t seem to understand geography of Donegal’

  A Donegal TD says the HSE at national level doesn’t seem to understand the geography of Donegal, and that’s impacting on services locally. Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn was speaking after he raised the issue of a vaccination centre for Inishowen with senior officials, in light of local newspaper reports that a site had been identified.

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Vaccinated people will be allowed skip hotel quarantine

  People who’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to skip hotel quarantine, after new advice from the Acting Chief Medical Officer. Quarantine bookings reopened overnight — but the European Commission has now launched an investigation into the legality of Ireland’s hotel isolation regime. By tomorrow night, the main quarantine contractor Tifco will have

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Council to assess Rathullan’s suitability for use as deep water port

  Donegal County Council’s Piers & Harbours Section is to assess Rathullan’s suitability for use as a deep water port. The issue was raised at Letterkenny and Milford Municipal District this week by Cllr Ian McGarvey, who told members he’s been advised that Rathmullan has the potential to be considered as a deep sea Port

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Plan designed to support farmers and fishers – McConalogue

The government’s has published its Agriculture Action Plan for 2021. The document, which was launched by Minister Charlie McConalogue, features 75 actions to further develop a sustainable and competitive agri-food, forestry and seafood sector. The measures include, developing Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, implementing the country’s first over-arching Animal Welfare Strategy and policies to underpin and

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Pop-up test centre will be established in Donegal ‘if needed’

  A Donegal Minister says while Donegal is above the national average in terms the Covid-19 rate, it’s by no means the worst. Despite the county having the third highest seven day case rate in Ireland there are ongoing concerns that no pop-up testing centre has been established. But Minister Charlie McConalogue says he has

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Almost 30 social housing units in Letterkenny ready in coming weeks

  Almost 30 new social housing units in Letterkenny will be ready in the coming weeks. ‘Ard ban’ has 29 homes, comprising of one, two and three bedroom dwellings have been completed in the Long Lane area of the town. An allocation list for the houses is currently being prepared with applicants expected to be

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Call for Rapid Response Initiative to deal with future gorse fires

    Councillors in West Donegal are calling on the Fire Service to help establish a Rapid Response Initiative to deal with gorse fires in the future, with suggestions that local people receive training, and basic equipment be provided in strategic locations. This week’s meeting of Glenties Municipal District discussed the second anniversary of a

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Concern over ‘lack of progress’ on South Donegal Greenway projects

  Donegal County Council is being urged to prioritise South Donegal when its new Greenway Unit is up and running. The call is coming from the Donegal Municipal District, which says there are a number of proposals being discussed in the area, none of which have been progressed. Leas Cathaoirleach Barry Sweeney says one in

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Ministers to meet later to discuss easing of lockdown in North

  Ministers at Stormont will meet later to discuss the easing of lockdown measures in Northern Ireland. It is expected to include dates for when things like hairdressers, non-essential retail and other businesses can reopen. Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, has suggested it will span “months”. Virologist at Queens University in Belfast, Lindsay Broadbent, believes

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Big funding announcement on horizon for Carndonagh

  The Cathaoirleach of the Inishowen MD is confident there’s a big funding announcement on the horizon for Carndonagh. It’s understood that the multi-million euro Carndonagh Tus Nua Regeneration Project has been successfully submitted to the Department of Rural The project has a value of around 9.5 million euro and funding support of around 8.3

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Ardara glamping project hailed a major success by DLDC

Donegal Local Development Company is urging communities and individuals to examine what can be done at community level with support from programmers such as Leader. One scheme being highlighted this week is the Farm Diversification Programme, which DLDC says has been used to great effect in Donegal in recent times. One recent example they say

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Mandatory vaccination “a step too far” – McCauley

The health watchdog says mandatory vaccination could be used as a last resort to boost uptake among healthcare workers. Advice given to NPHET says redeployment to lower-risk areas may also be an option for staff who refuse to get the jab. But HIQA says the “intervention ladder” should start with providing evidence-based information and then

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Foster gives evidence about “distressing” tweet

Northern Ireland’s first minister has told a court an unfounded allegation that she was having an affair with a close protection officer was “very distressing”. Arlene Foster’s been giving evidence in a High Court libel hearing about a tweet from Christian Jessen – best known for his role on the ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ TV show. Sky’s

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Have your say in re-imagining Market Square in Letterkenny

  People are being encouraged to have their say in re-imagining the Market Square in Letterkenny. Last summer, Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce and Donegal County Council launched an architectural competition, and following the receipt of 31 proposals, six designs have been shortlisted. People are now being asked to vote on which of the designs they

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