Author name: oisinkelly

  Ulster Bank has announced a phased withdrawal from the Irish market. It will take place over a number of years, with no immediate change for customers. Staff have been told there will be no additional compulsory redundancies this year. There are six Ulster Bank branches across the North West – Letterkenny, Buncrana, Ballybofey, Donegal

  The Covid incidence rate continues to fall in all local electoral areas in Donegal. The latest data covers the 14 days up to last Monday and shows further improvements in all areas however the rate in Lifford/ Stranorlar is still above the national average. 25 cases were recorded in North Inishowen with the areas

  The public are being invited to have their say on the Proposed Variation to the County Donegal Development Plan in respect of the TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project. The Proposed Variation specifically identifies and protects the new preferred route corridors for the TEN-T project. The TEN-T Project is a proposed major strategic roads project

Level 5 restrictions could be in place until May with Ministers expecting almost no measures to ease next month. The phased re-opening of schools is likely to be the only major easing of the current lockdown amid fears around the new COVID variants. Public Health Officials were described as incredibly cautious last night by senior

  The Seanad will debate a Labour Bill today, which would ensure student nurses get paid. The party wants them to get the same wage as healthcare assistants for the hours they work during placement. Labour Senator Annie Hoey claims student nurses and midwives are being exploited, as the Government’s refused to pay them during

47 additional covid deaths and 901 new cases have been confirmed. 29 cases have been identified in Donegal. 771 covid patients are hospitalised, of which 151 are in ICU. The 14 day incidence rate is 252.9 per 100,000 of the population.

The Leaving Cert exams will get underway on Wednesday June 9th. English paper one is the first exam to take place and will be held at 9:30 that morning. Physical Education will be the last subject to be examined on Tuesday June 29th. No additional time has been allocated for students to complete their tests

A Donegal man who “sneaked” into an apartment through an unlocked door and raped a sleeping woman has been jailed for four years. Justice Alex Owens said that Desmond Leitch’s incorrect insistence that the victim was a prostitute demonstrated a lack of remorse. He said Leitch had no business entering into the woman’s apartment block

Investigations are continuing after a man was assaulted in Ramelton on Saturday night last. At around 8:30pm on Saturday, Gardaí attended the scene of an incident at a premises in Ramelton. A man in his 30s suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital. Gardai have confirmed that no arrests have been

The North will keep current lockdown restrictions until the 1st of April. The Stormont Executive says exam pupils will return to school on the 22nd of March. Before that – on the 8th of March – children at pre-school and primary year groups P1 to P3 will go back.

There has been an additional 6 covid related deaths reported in the North. 342 people tested positive for Coronavirus in the last 24 hours. There are now 418 people being treated for the virus in hospitals, with 51 patients in ICU in Northern Ireland.

18 arrests have been made by Gardai and the PSNI following a joint operation to tackle rural crime along the border. High visibility patrols took place throughout all border counties yesterday, as part of a planned Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force Operation concentrating specifically on routes being used by burglars and gangs. This Joint

  Donegal County Council is to receive over €1.2m for the retrofitting of 45 social homes. It’s part of the Government’s Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme for Social Housing. With approximately 40% of Ireland’s energy-related carbon emissions coming from buildings alone, one of the key objectives of the Programme is the target of retrofitting reaching over

  Motorists travelling on the main Lifford to Letterkenny road are being urged to take care following reports of a major oil spill. Caution is particularly advised at the Manor roundabout where the spill is said to be at its worst. Separately, people are being urged to drive with caution at Oatfields roundabout in Letterkenny

  The cabinet sub-committee on Covid will meet this afternoon to get advice on when parts of the economy might reopen in the coming months. Schools and construction are the two areas likely to be given priority. Many of the big decisions about how the next few months will unfold will be informed by what

  There will be a review of Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 lockdown later, with the attention likely to be on schools. Current restrictions are in place until March 5th – but the Executive’s meeting to look at them again. This current set of measures started on December 26th. Education Minister Peter Weir says a definite answer

  This year’s Leaving Cert will go ahead with a choice for students between written exams and calculated grades. Junior Cert 2021 has also been cancelled after a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on education. Each student will be given a calculated grade for every subject, and the choice of sitting the written exam for

  12 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Donegal this evening. Nationally, there have been 57 additional deaths announced and 650 new cases. 192 of the cases are in Dublin, 53 in Galway, 50 in Meath, 46 in Kildare, 46 in Cork and the remaining 263 cases are spread across 19 other counties

    An antique style gold ring has been found and handed in at Letterkenny Garda Station. If you lost a ring in the Letterkenny area over the past number of months and believe that you may be the owner, please contact Garda Fiona Doherty on 074-9167100 with a full description of the ring. Proof

Police in Strabane are appealing for information over a sheep theft.  A total of 16 Texel sheep were stolen from Magherabrack Road in Feeny at some stage between 6pm on Friday and 10am on Saturday. Anyone who was in the area during that time and who may have noticed anything suspicious are being asked to

  Police have renewed an appeal for information regarding an arson attack on the Urney Road area of Clady on Saturday 15th August, last year. The incident occurred at around 4am at a home which was under construction, causing extensive damage to the property. Enquiries are continuing and police are appealing to anyone who witnessed

A further 6 Covid related deaths have been recorded in the north. 297 people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. There are 434 people being treated for the disease in hospitals in Northern Ireland, with 53 patients in ICU.

  Over 125,000 euro is to be shared among swimming pool operators across Donegal. The funding is part of the second and final phase of the Covid-19 swimming pool grant scheme. Sport Ireland appointed Ireland Active, the representative body for the leisure, health and fitness sector, to administer the swimming pool grant scheme, supported by

The programme for the National St. Patrick’s Festival, has been unveiled. Dúisigh Éire! Awaken Ireland! is the theme of this year’s festival, a clarion call to the Irish across the world to throw off the long, dark months and rise to embrace the brighter days ahead. St. Patrick’s Festival is made possible through the continued