Author name: oisinkelly

The head of the HSE says it’s ready to adjust the vaccination programme if the government decides to prioritise younger people. The Health Minister’s asked officials to look at the possibility of vaccinating under 30s ahead of older groups in a bid to reduce transmission rates. It would see those aged 18 to 30 get

The National Union of Journalists is calling on people to help with the PSNI investigation into the killing of Lyra McKee in Derry. It comes ahead of the second anniversary of the journalist’s death tomorrow. It’s echoing calls from her family for witnesses in the Creggan area to come forward with information over her killing

67 year olds can book their Covid-19 vaccination appointment from this morning. They can register for appointments through the HSE website and phone line. It comes as 420 new cases of the virus have been confirmed in the Republic, along with 11 further deaths – 3 of which occurred this month. There were 33 new

Donegal County Council is to examine the feasibility of using old unused county roads for the construction of new walking trails, in conjunction with Coillte, the forestry authority. The issue was raised at Letterkenny and Milford Municipal District this week by Cllr Ciaran Brogan, who said this would be a cost effective way of developing

Irish Water is being urged to come up with a long term solution to probloems with the water infrastructure serving Gola Island. It’s after the main pipe from the mainland to Gola partially resurfaced in recent days, resulting in a small boat hitting it. Local Cllr Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says similar issues emerge every

  A Minister of State believes that the majority of people want to maintain a cautious approach to reopening despite calls for a plan in the Republic to mirror the North. Minister Colm Brophy says decisions made and the aftermath of the Christmas period has made people more wary of the dangers of Covid-19. Minister

    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

  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

  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

A Councillor in Buncrana is urging Donegal County Council to buy the former Garda Station in the town for use as a community facility. The building has been vacant since 2007, when Gardai moved to a state of the art facility. Cllr Nicholas Crossan believes the state-owned building will be put on the market shortly.

  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

  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.

  Pub owners want a plan for reopening after the announcement in the North that outdoor hospitality can restart there on April 30th. The Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said yesterday the Government is working on a plan for reopening the economy over summer. Vintners Federation of Ireland Chief Executive, Padraig Cribben wants pubs to be allowed

  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

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

  Retailers have called for a faster re-opening of non-essential shopping. It comes as the retail sector is set to open in Northern Ireland at the end of this month. Click and collect services here will likely re-open in early May, with the full sector following later in the month. Deputy Chair of Retail Excellence

  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

  New changing and showering facilities are on the way to Downings and Bundoran beach. It’s part of a multi-million euro project from Failte Ireland, which says the facilities will be nothing like what they have already. They will be spread across 22 beaches in total in urban and rural areas across the country. Head