Author name: oisinkelly

    Restaurant owners are launching a series of test cases in the High Court demanding insurers pay out on business interruption cover. The main trade group for the sector says its legal team has found 450 businesses which have insurance policies “identical” to those covered by the judgment against FBD earlier this month. It

  A major rollout of the covid vaccination programme is to get underway from today. Up to 80 thousand people aged over 85 will start getting the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines over the next 3 weeks. It comes as 788 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed and 17 more patients with the virus have died

The re-opening of schools on a phased basis is set to begin later this month under new government plans. The Sunday Independent reports primary schools will re-open gradually from March 1st – followed by secondary pupils later next month. Leaving Cert pupils will be brought back from February 22nd. The cabinet is also expected to

Around 3 thousand GPs and practice nurses will get their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine today. The Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs are being given at hubs in Dublin, Galway, Portlaoise and Sligo. The latest figures show over 261 thousand Covid vaccines have been administered across the country – with 171 thousand people receiving their first dose.

It’ll be at least September before indoor gatherings with more than 50 people are allowed take place, according to the Tanaiste. In a letter to a member of the events industry, Leo Varadkar says they won’t happen until the “majority” of people are vaccinated. In the document, seen by the Business Post, he says this

A Midlands North West MEP has warned the EU needs to better protect people from abuse on social media platforms. MEPs this week called for democratic oversight of tech giants to safeguard freedom of expression. The European Parliament is demanding better regulation of Social Media platforms to defend democracy. MEP Maria Walsh says educating people

A contractor has been appointed to carry out repairs to a damaged crash barrier on the Letterkenny to Ramelton Road. The barrier just past the Silver Tassie Hotel had been damaged in recent times and there had been safety concerns locally if another crash were to happen. Donegal County Council has confirmed that the repair

The country’s waking up to three weather warnings as wintry conditions hit the country. Many areas are under snow this morning, with a status yellow snow and ice warning in place for Connacht, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal until midday. A status yellow wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and

The Taoiseach will not be travelling to Washington for St Patrick’s Day, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Officials are now looking to organise a virtual meeting between Micheál Martin and US president Joe Biden that day. A government spokesman says a programme of online events are expected to replace the traditional visit to the US.

A junior minister has appealed to the ASTI teachers’ union to go back into talks on the Leaving Cert for the sake of students. The ASTI yesterday pulled out of talks after a row on calculated grades. But it said it is working to ‘break the impasse’ after meeting the government today. Minister of state

Further concern has been raised over the closure of Carndonagh Courthouse. A survey detailed the need for major refurbishment and maintenance works to be carried out on the building which has been lying empty now for almost two years. It’s now been confirmed that to reopen the courthouse would require hundreds of thousands of euros,

    A popular Donegal drink may become that little bit more ‘special’ for UK customers now as a result of Brexit. The cost of shipping cases of the renowned Football Special drink to Glasgow has doubled and it’s now cheaper to send the product to the likes of Athens and other EU countries. Managing

  The Transport Minister is being urged to take decisive action to tackle the massive driving test backlog. Latest figures show that 2,613 learner drivers are waiting for a test in Donegal with over 92,000 nationwide. In Letterkenny, 1,452 have applied for a date for a test, with 1,024 applicants deemed eligible having completed all

  A Fianna Fail Councillor believes we need to think about the long term benefits a trip by the Taoiseach to the US for St. Patrick’s Day would bring to the local economy. Michael martin said yesterday that he will go to the White House on St Patrick’s Day if he’s invited but it’s unclear

  The Teachers Union of Ireland says they are committed to the talks on this year’s Leaving Cert exams. It comes as the ASTI says it’s going to meet with the minister for education today to discuss issues with the leaving cert, but they’re not back in talks. The teachers union withdrew from discussion about

  A member of NPHET has warned it’ll take a long time for hospitals to recover from the “shock” of the third wave of Covid-19. As of last night, 62 people with Covid-19 were being treated on site at Letterkenny University Hospital – 4 in ICU. The number of people with the virus being treated

  The National Immunisation Advisory Committee has no plans to revise its advice regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. The World Health Organisation has recommended that it be given to all adults, including those over the age of 70. Ireland is one of a number of countries which has chosen to give over 70s the Pfizer or

  A fresh round of talks will take place today between the ASTI and Department of Education aimed at resolving a row over plans for the Leaving Cert. The main secondary teachers union pulled out of discussions last night, describing a proposal to rely heavily on calculated grades as “not viable”. The Department says it

  There are calls on the Government to look at the stability of chemical arms dumped off the coast of Donegal. It’s understood that there’s a substantial amount of barrels labelled with toxic warning signs lying on the seabed off Tory Island for the best part of 100 years. Decades on, concern is said to

  A Donegal Deputy is being urged to do what’s in his gift to advise the Northern Ireland Assembly to mirror rules in the Republic around negative PCR testing. The call came from the Tánaiste after accusations by Deputy Pearse Doherty that the Government was slow in the roll out of mandatory negative PCR testing

The Mica Redress Scheme is said to be becoming challenging for some homeowners. It’s claimed some people are struggling to meet the cost of the required 10% contribution while for homeowners who have to demolish and rebuild their homes, some estimated costs are coming in above the maximum grant available in the scheme. Councillor Martin

  The Minister for Higher Education is being urged to address what’s been described as shortcomings with the SUSI grant. The grant scheme is to open for applications to students next week but there’s said to be a cohort of that fall between two stools and don’t qualify for top up. It’s because some don’t

      People working in the entertainment sector say more needs to be done to protect the industry. A new funding scheme has been announced to encourage local authorities to upgrade their outdoor public spaces. It’s in a bid to allow small concerts and gigs take place safely outdoors in the months ahead. But

  The Taoiseach says he will go to the White House on St Patrick’s Day if he’s invited. It’s unclear if Micheál Martin will get an invitation to meet the US President on the 17th of March, due to Covid 19. Bu he says he will go if asked:

The Tánaiste has warned there’s no COVID strategy that can avoid rolling or snap lockdowns. It comes as Level 5 restrictions are set to be extended until at least Easter. The full construction sector and schools are expected to open after March 5th with most of the rest of the country staying closed. Tánaiste Leo