Author name: oisinkelly

  The Tánaiste has accused Sinn Fein of reheating an old political controversy and that the party’s Dail time would be better used by airing other issues. The release of internal Department of Health emails has shone the light again on last year’s controversy involving Leo Varadkar the leaking of a GP contract to his

  The Health Minister has said his plan is for everyone to be offered a COVID vaccine by September. Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil Ireland is due to get 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the first quarter of the year. EU leaders will meet by video conference later to discuss a target of

  There are claims that fishermen will continue to face perilous conditions and long journeys to newly designated ports in Donegal. Earlier this week, the Marine Minister confirmed that the county would have a total of four ports of UK registered vessels from Monday week. But local priest Fr. John Joe Duffy, who has a

  Questions are being asked to why the Saint Columbcille Village is being excluded from the initial vaccine roll out. The residential facility in Inishowen which includes a high support unit, caters mainly to people over the age of 65. Staff in the setting are solely made up for caregivers with no nurses on site

  The Taoiseach has been urged to commit to the finalisation and implementation of the wind energy guideline review, and the publication of the Mulcahy report – a report into planning irregularities in Donegal. Both reports have been outstanding for a number of years. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle highlighted the impact the peat landslide at

  A South Donegal Deputy says the North West and Border region will be worst affected by Brexit and therefore should receive the largest share of the Brexit Adjustment Fund of €1 billion. According to 2020 employment figures, the North West lost 2.9% of Enterprise Ireland supported jobs – the largest decrease nationwide. This compares

  Talks between teacher unions and the Department on the return of special education will resume later. It’s after the Department abandoned today’s planned reopening, following objections from the INTO and Forsa on safety grounds. Meanwhile disability advocacy groups are demanding a meeting with the Taoiseach to arrange a package of supports for affected children

  The traffic lights on the Justice Walsh Road in Letterkenny have been described as the most frustrating in the whole of the town. It’s reported that there are significant delays on the route as the lights change for a mere couple of seconds, letting only a small number of vehicles pass through. A motion

  Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has told the Dail that the courage of Mother and Baby Home survivors must now be met with immediate action. Speaking during statements on the report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, Deputy Doherty says proper redress for all those impacted, dedicated counselling and support services

Serious concern has been raised over a lack of safety measures on part of the new stretch of the N56 Kilmacrennan Road. The Letterkenny Milford Municipal District meeting has heard that there have been a number of incidents involving vehicles sliding out from the Cashelgay and Coolboy junction into oncoming traffic due to icy road

Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. The ceremony took place in a quieter Washington where spectators have been replaced by a sea of flags. Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the first female, first black, and first South Asian vice president. Lady Gaga performed The Star-Spangled

MEPs say the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next US President is an opportunity to strengthen EU-US ties. Transatlantic relations have been strained over the past four years under the Trump Presidency. This morning, the EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe once again has a friend in the White House. Midlands

  A Donegal Deputy has described paying student nurses and midwives 100 euro a week to effectively put their life on line as completely unacceptable. The Dáil is debating a second motion calling for student nurses and midwives to be paid. Sinn Féin say it’s shameful the new head of the Department of Health will

  The Higher Education Minister is hoping a roadmap for how the Leaving Cert can safely take place, will be outlined in the next few weeks. The Government has repeatedly insisted that it’s their intention that the  State exams will go ahead this year. But students have voiced their concerns about the practicalities of this,

  There are calls for a longer-term cross border healthcare scheme following the end of the EU Cross Border Healthcare Directive. The scheme, which was terminated as a result of Brexit, has been described as a significant success since it began operating in Ireland in June 2014 with the HSE paying out more than €40m

    A Stranorlar GP says people must be patient as it relates to the vaccine roll out. Yesterday the government gave the go-ahead for a 91 million euro deal for GPs and Pharmacists to administer doses. People are being asked not to call the surgeries regarding Covid vaccines and that they will be contacted

  The Public Expenditure Minister has indicated Level 5 restrictions will not be lifted at the end of this month. As of last night, there were 113 patients with Covid-19 being treated at Letterkenny University Hospital – 5 in ICU while there were 90 new confirmed cases reported in Donegal. 1,897 patients were in public

Temperatures are set to plummet in the coming days, with road users being advised to take care. Met Eireann says conditions will be increasingly wintry through the week. There is a weather advisory in effect until Sunday night, with frost, ice and snow likely in places. Met Eireann forecaster, Matthew Martin, says weather warnings are

  Children with special needs will not be returning to the classroom this week after the Government was forced to abandon the plan. The Department of Education says the decision was down to “a lack of co-operation” from teacher unions. The Irish National Teachers Organisation and Forsa had earlier called on the minister to postpone

  A Donegal Deputy has described a proposal to pay student nurses and midwives €100 per week for clinical placements during the Covid-19 pandemic as outrageous. Sinn Féin are bringing forward a motion before the Dáil later, rejecting the proposed Pandemic Placement Grant would cost around €5.4 million if backdated to September as expected, and

  Donegal County Council is to write to the Government seeking a business rates waiver for 2021. A rates wavier was initially introduced in March 2020 as a measure to help businesses following the Covid-19 outbreak. Councillor John O’Donnell believes this should be extended for the entirety of this year. He says it would be

There are calls for the speed limit on the Golf Course Road in Letterkenny to be reduced following a number of incidents where walkers have been hit by passing vehicles. Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh at today’s virtual sitting of the Letterkenny Milford Municipal District called for the speed limit on the road to be reduced to