Author name: oisinkelly

  A Donegal County Councillor believes quality broadband is now a basic need and is just as important as electricity. The issue of poor connectivity, particularly in rural parts of Donegal is said to be more prevalent than ever with lockdown, a big increase in people now working from home and online learning for children. […]

  Regional airports are getting funding to help reduce emissions, and to keep some routes operating. 21 million euro was announced in November for Donegal, Kerry and Knock Airports through the Government’s Regional Airport Programme. The funding will also be put towards keeping services between Donegal and Dublin, as well as the capital and Kerry.

  Ireland’s in for the “long haul” in its fight to suppress Covid-19, according to the Taoiseach. Micheal Martin told his parliamentary party last night the UK variant is increasing the disease’s reproductive number by zero-point-five and is slowing the decline in case numbers. He also told members that reopening schools and construction will be

  A Donegal Doctor has welcomed confirmation from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee that all Covid-19 vaccines authorised for use in Ireland can be administered to all adults, including those aged 70 and over. The NIAC says those aged 70 and older should be given an mRNA vaccine which includes Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Dr

  Two Donegal facilities are facing what’s been described as ‘harrowing pressure’ with further calls on the Government to sanction the necessary funding as a matter of urgency. Both the Bluestacks Foundation in south Donegal and iCare in Inishowen have both been inexistence for nearly 20 years yet neither facility have received sufficient public funding

It’s been confirmed that the residents of St Columbcille’s Village in Clonmany will receive their Covid-19 vaccine next week. Minister Charlie McConalogue received confirmation this afternoon that the first dose of the vaccine will be administered at the centre next week and the second dose two weeks later. It comes following a campaign to ensure

  Fuel poverty has always been prevalent in Donegal and the pandemic has only worsened the issue further. That’s according to Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle who was speaking the Dail this afternoon, supporting a motion to extend fuel allowance to people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Deputy Pringle made reference to a study

  It’s hoped that residents in the St. Columbcille Village in Clonmany will get vaccinated against Covid-19 next week. The facility wasn’t as high on the priority list for vaccinations because it is not a nurse-led centre. Although no definitive date has been set for the rollout, it’s understood that senior management in the HSE

  The Foreign Affairs Minister says doing away with the Northern Ireland protocol is unrealistic. The North’s First and Deputy First Ministers will hold talks with the European Commission and the British Government today over it’s implementation, as the DUP has launched a campaign for the protocol to be scrapped. It follows Europe’s decision to

  Professor Gabriel Scally says conference centres and halls should be hired to enable schools to reopen safely. There’s no clear timeline for when mainstream schools will reopen, although the current restrictions do allow for it. Public health expert, Professor Scally, says some measures need to be taken for that to happen:

  A Donegal parent whose child has special needs says the talks over the return to school shouldn’t have been played out in public. Special needs education will resume later this month, after an agreement was reached between government and stakeholders. Local Parent Leonard Watson has a child attending the Little Angels School in Letterkenny

  The Cathaoirleach of the Stranorlar MD has insisted that gritters should operate throughout the night, particularly during an extreme weather alert. Currently, gritters here do not operate between the hours of midnight and 6am with concern locally among some motorists who have to use untreated routes during that time frame. The Council is being

A Donegal Deputy has accused the Public Expenditure Minister of being ‘tone deaf’ over the Government’s approval of an €81,000 pay hike for the next secretary general of the Department of Health. Minister Michael McGrath told the Finance Committee yesterday it was the “right decision” to increase the salary from €211,000 to €292,000. An open

  The recent surge in Covid deaths is directly due to restrictions being lifted before Christmas, according to Professor Gabriel Scally. A daily-record of 101 deaths were confirmed here yesterday, while one of those people was 19-years-old. However, the lowest number of cases since December 28th was also recorded, with 879 new infections. 15 of

  People on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment should be entitled to a Fuel Allowance, according to Sinn Féin. The party has put forward a motion on the issue which will be debated in the Dáil later. Earlier this week, People Before Profit called for the fuel allowance to be doubled with so many people staying

An expected four year delay to a plan to overhaul eating disorder treatment in Ireland has been described as “unforgivable”. Ireland’s eating disorder treatment plan could take almost nine years to roll out, when the original aim was five. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle says there is no excuse for such a long delay:

  There’s still no timeline or guarantee as to when all residents and staff at the St Columbcille Village in Clonmany will be vaccinated. The facility run by care assistants, provides care to almost 30 residents over the age of 70 and there’s on-going concern over the delay in the vaccine roll out. As part

  The Letterkenny Garda Division will be redoubling their efforts this week with extra checkpoints operating on a larger scale from tomorrow. Anybody who is undertaking an essential journey is being advised to expect delays and leave some extra time for your journey. People are also being reminded that if a driver is found to

  People can’t expect to visit beaches in the summer that aren’t in their own localities, according to the Chief Medical Officer. Dr Tony Holohan says it isn’t realistic to expect to be in a position to have a holiday abroad in the coming months. Yesterday, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary says he expects the numbers

A Donegal INTO Representative says the public health advice was key in the planned phase return for special education. Special schools will reopen at 50 percent capacity in less than two weeks, followed by special-needs classes in mainstream schools later in the month. But advocacy groups say many children in mainstream primary school classes or

  A Donegal County Councillor is calling for a review into the Tenant Purchase Scheme to be published as a matter of urgency. The Scheme, which allows a pathway for people in social housing to buy out their home, had been previously deemed too rigid with a very low uptake over the years. A review

  The Health Minister is being urged to clarify the timeline as to when pharmacists and their frontline staff can expect to receive their vaccinations against Covid-19. It comes as almost 70 pharmacists in Donegal have sent a joint-letter offering to play their part in the rollout of the vaccination programme. Every year, including this

Nearly 40 percent of Leaving Cert students are getting higher grades from the deferred exam, than they were offered in predictive grades. More than 2,200 will be able to access their marks online from midday. Students who earn more points than in the calculated grades will have the option to start a new higher point

  A Donegal Councillor believes tourism in Donegal needs to be examined as a whole. It comes as Donegal County Council has started a process of looking at the industry and has brought in tourism consultants to do so in a bid to capitalise on the year ahead. Councillor Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig raised questions

  There’s a flood warning in parts this morning as a status yellow rain warning is in operation. The alert for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo began overnight and runs until later tonight, with up to 40 millimetres of rain possible. Met Eireann says there is a risk of localised flooding in the areas.

There has been an additional 1,062 new Covid-19 cases and 10 deaths. 1,436 people are in hospital with the disease and 207 are in ICUs. The 14 day incidence rate is now 479 cases per 100,000 people. Chair of NPHET’s modelling group, Professor Philip Nolan, says infection levels over the past week are a worry: