Author name: oisinkelly

All sides urged to ‘dig deep’ to get special schools reopened

  The Higher Education Minister’s urging all sides to ‘dig deep’ to find a solution to get special schools reopened. He says engagement is taking place ‘in good faith’ between unions and the Department of Education. He believes a lot of progress was made during the week. Minister Simon Harris says the Education Minister Norma […]

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Interim measures for problems on Letterkenny-Kilmacrennan road

  A Senior Road Engineer at Donegal County Council has committed to exploring how problems at various junctions along the main Letterkenny to Kilmacrennan road can be solved. Residents who live there are said to be finding it extremely difficult to stop when approaching the main road on frosty mornings with some of the minor

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Areas in Donegal record falls in Covid rate but numbers still high

  While there’s been a significant fall in the Covid rate in Letterkenny and Milford Local Electoral Area’s – both still remain above the national average as does Lifford/ Stranorlar. A big drop has also been reported in the South Inishowen area and to a lesser extent in North Inishowen and while case rates across

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South Donegal TD warns of indefinite lockdown unless more vaccines secured

A South Donegal TD has warned an indefinite lockdown is on the cards unless Ireland can secure more doses of vaccine. Marc MacSharry has urged his government colleagues to break with the EU purchase system and try to get more doses directly from the companies involved. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said the government plans

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121,900 people in Ireland have received first dose of Covid vaccine

121,900 people have now received their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine. It equates to more than 2% of the population, with residents in 589 long term care facilities set to get their first dose by Sunday. The Health Minister says everyone in the country should be offered a vaccination by September. HSE CEO Paul

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Tánaiste accuses Sinn Fein of ‘reheating old political controversy’

  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

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Fishermen face ‘perilous conditions’ to newly designated ports

  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

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Questions over exclusion of Inishowen facility from initial vaccine roll out

  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

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Taoiseach urged to publish report into planning irregularities in Donegal

  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

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North West Must Receive Bulk of Brexit Fund – Harkin

  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

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Talks to resume on return of special education

  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

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Council urged to tackle ‘frustrating’ traffic lights in Letterkenny

  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

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Courage of survivors must be met with action – Doherty

  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

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Serious concerns raised over vehicles sliding into oncoming traffic on N56

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

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Military to be deployed in North to assist in fight against Covid-19

Stormont’s Health Minister has confirmed the military is to be deployed in Northern Ireland – to assist the health service in the fight against covid-19. Robin Swann asked the ministry of defence to help out at what he’s described a particularly challenging and critical period for the health service. The move will see over 100

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