Author name: oisinkelly

  Serious concern has been raised over alleged dog attacks in west Donegal. It’s claimed that there have been several incidents on beaches in the area where dogs who are not on a leash have snapped at other members of the public out walking. Local Cllr Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says the issue may result

  The Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are issuing appeals for people to be safe if near water this Bank Holiday weekend. People are being asked to stay away from the edges of waterways within their 5k exercise boundaries over Easter. Water temperatures are around nine degrees, and drains body heat much faster

  There are calls for the Government to reevaluate the priority list for vaccines to include Special Needs Assistants. Once the most vulnerable get their injections it will move to based on age. Forsa says other workers in special schools including nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists have been vaccinated, but not SNAs. Meanwhile, a Stranorlar

  Finn Harps has been granted €4 million towards their long awaited new stadium. Work to secure funding for the project is complete with a provisional allocation of €3.991m to the FAI under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund for the development of the stadium. While some initial work has been done, the project has

  The Dail has been told the recent EU / UK trade deal is an insult to the Irish fishing, which is already suffering from the impact of bad deals. Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn, the Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Fisheries and the Marine, says the Irish fleet only has access to around a third of the

  Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh has incurred the wrath of Leas Ceann Comhairle Catherine Connelly after going a minute over time in a submission to Tanaiste Leo Varadkar on persuading workers with IT and HI-Tec firms to move to rural counties like Donegal. Some TDs compared contrasted the situation to yesterday’s Sinn Fein claim that

  Gardai are warning motorists of the dangers of drug driving this Easter Bank Holiday weekend. There’s been a 37 per cent rise in the number of blood and urine samples for drugs testing in 2020 compared to 2019. Of the specimens tested, almost three-quarters were found to be positive for at least one drug.

  The country’s five-day moving average of Covid-19 cases has fallen by eight percent in the past week to 536. It comes as 761 new infections were reported to the Department of Health, while 18 more deaths linked to the virus were recorded – 14 of the new cases were in Donegal. There were 255

  A Donegal Deputy says legal uncertainties still remain as it relates to revelations last week that the Department of Health has been building secret dossiers on children with autism. It comes as the Data Protection Commissioner has begun a statutory inquiry into the allegations. The office has acted on its own initiative to set

  The Health Minister says Ireland can have a “really good summer” if people continue to abide by restrictions for a few more weeks. However he warned that it would take very little to cause another surge in cases of Covid-19. It comes as public health officials urge people not to meet up over the

  A Foyle MLA has expressed concern for the future of the greenway project linking Derry and Muff after it emerged there’s been a delay in granting planning permission on the Derry side of the project. Martina Anderson has written to the Chief Executive of Derry City and Strabane District Council after the council’s planning

  Ramelton is set to benefit significantly from this year’s Built Heritage Investment Scheme. A number of projects have secured funding in the town under the scheme including The Bottling Store, Fort Stewart, Guildhall and a house on the Back Lane. A total of eleven projects across the county are to share €72,000 under the

  The Minister for Foreign Affairs believes the Governments Our Rural Future plan will have far-reaching benefits for rural Donegal. The plan launched earlier this week includes the development of rural areas and includes schemes to turn vacant properties into remote working hubs and to use pubs as community spaces. In total, it features 150

  The Education Minister has told her Fianna Fail colleagues the National Immunisation Advisory Committee needs to explain its decisions on the vaccine roll-out plan to people. Norma Foley was part of the meeting that signed off on the change to a system based on age on Tuesday. There’s been outrage at the change in

  Economic activity is expected to remain subdued in the first half of the year before gradually recovering in the second half of 2021. That’s according to the Central Bank’s latest quarterly bulletin. It’s forecasting the rate of unemployment will remain higher in 2022 than pre-pandemic levels. Director of Economics and Statistics, Mark Cassidy says some

  The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has appealed to anyone planning on meeting up with others against health advice this Easter, to do so outside. Two households aren’t allowed to meet up outside until April 12th. It comes as a further 411 new cases and 6 deaths were reported yesterday. 272 people with the disease

  The Minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works has heard calls for flood defence works in Donegal to be progressed. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty at the Finance Committee, told Minister Patrick O’Donovan that flooding remains a very real problem and continues to pose a serious risk for homes and businesses across the

    The Donegal Local Development Company has acknowledged the publication of the Government’s Rural Development Strategy, welcoming the ambition of the policy announcement and its potential for Donegal. CEO Padraic Fingleton says Local Development Companies such as DLDC have been pillars of rural development for over 30 years, and are well placed to work

Donegal Deputy and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has defended the government’s decision to alter the vaccination priority protocols, saying it is based on scientific advice and designed to achieve the most effective programme possible. On today Nine til Noon Show with Greg Hughes, Minister Mc Conalogue also confirmed that once we enter the next phase

There’s been a major breakthrough in the ongoing development of the Fort George site in Derry with confirmation that part of it has been offered as a site for a new Health and Care Centre. The Department for Communities, which owns Fort George, announced that it has established an agreement with the Western Trust to

A row has broken out in the Dail with the Ceann Comhairle being accused of turning off the microphones of Sinn Fein Deputies. Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn claimed for the second week, the microphones of Sinn Fein deputies have been turned off after running over speaking time. The issue came to the fore today as

The President of Letterkenny Chamber says much more clarity is needed for businesses to enable them plan for reopening. The retail sector has yet to be given a definitive date for the resumption of their services with click and collect services not allowed to return until at least May. Michael Margey says business owners need

Cafes and restaurants will be able to get a grant of up to 4,000 euro to set up an outdoor dining space in time for Summer. A new 17 million euro scheme for developing outdoor dining capacity nationwide has been unveiled. Local Authorities will also be given funding of up to 200 thousand euro to

The Garda Representative Association is seeking a meeting with the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to discuss the fallout of the change to the rollout of the vaccination programme. Gardai, teachers and family carers believe they should be vaccinated as a priority. Vice President of the GRA, Brendan O’Connor says Gardai on the ground feel they