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A Donegal bus escort says while they want to see children with special needs return to school, serious safety concerns remain. The number on the school bus, no ventilation and no PPE are all said to be major issues. Disability and carers organisations will meet Department of Education officials to discuss plans for classes to

  There are calls for programmes to be put in place for children with additional needs following reports of major regression for some children while schools have been closed. The Education Minister announced yesterday that special needs students at primary level will be able to return to the classroom next Thursday. However, Donegal Deputy Thomas

  The Taoiseach says efforts are ongoing in a bid to solve the Brexit fall out issue affecting fishermen. For the last 14 days, fishermen in Donegal and the North have been prevented from landing their produce in their usual piers and harbours because their boat is registered Northern Ireland. They are only permitted to

  The Education Minister says the reopening of schools in February will depend on the general public’s behavior over the coming weeks. Norma Foley says considerable planning has gone into running this year’s Leaving Cert, with papers being adjusted to give students more choice. It comes as some students have expressed concern about how much

  The Tánaiste says he wants to fast-track the National Broadband Plan by up to two years. The aim is part of the country’s first National Remote Work Strategy, which also reveals employees will have a legal right to ask to work remotely by September. The 3 billion euro National Broadband Plan is due to

  Sinn Féin is calling for contingency plans to be urgently put in place in case the leaving cert exams can’t go ahead. There are fears these students won’t have in-person classes until after St Patrick’s Day. But the government says it still intends to have full, written exams for junior and leaving cert pupils

  A meeting is taking place this morning to finalise plans for special needs education to resume next Thursday. Department of Education officials will update disability, autism and carers’ organisations after an agreement was reached yesterday. Special needs students at primary level will be able to return to the classroom in six days’ time. Minister

  A West Donegal Councillor is opposing plans for a Primary Care Centre in Dungloe. Plans have been lodged with Donegal County County Council for the development on Carnmore Road which would include GP services and a pharmacy. Councillor Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig, fears Dungloe Community Hospital will eventually be downgraded as a result. While

The roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine is continuing today in nursing homes across Donegal. Vaccination teams yesterday administered the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to residents in Ramelton and Milford. 77 year old Elizabeth McLaughlin, a resident at Carndonagh Community Hospital became the first person in residential services for Older People in Inishowen to receive the

Over 77,000 people have been vaccinated for Covid-19 as of yesterday. 4,000 people have been trained to issue vaccines in anticipation of a further roll out of the vaccination programme. The Health Minister expects 700,000 people to be vaccinated between now and the end of March. HSE CEO Paul Reid outlines the breakdown of who

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has brought legislation before the Dail, which if passed, would ban dual pricing within the Irish insurance industry. A recent Central Bank report revealed that the majority of insurance companies are using dual pricing, resulting in customers being charged 35% more with around 70% of customers renewing policies with the same

Special schools and special needs students in primary schools will be able to return to classrooms from next week. Special students will be able to access in-person education on a phased basis from Thursday January 21st. This will also apply to children who are not in a special class but have significant additional needs. Discussions

  The Irish Second Level Students Unions has issued an open letter to the Education Minister, calling for the traditional state exams to be replaced with an alternative format for 2021. The union is currently engaging with students and plans to bring forward their views in due course. The details of a nationwide student survey

  There are urgent calls for more designated Irish ports for Donegal fishermen affected by the Brexit fallout issue. New regulations has seen rural Irish Fishermen and fishing vessels from Northern Ireland being unable to land fish or obtain marine fuel in all but two ports – one in Killybegs the other in Cork. Even

  A public health expert believes it’s very unlikely that schools will reopen in February. They are closed for this month to curb the spread of Covid 19. Government Ministers have repeatedly said they want them shut for the shortest time possible. But Professor Gabriel Scally doesn’t think they will reopen at the end of

    4 million people could be vaccinated in Ireland against Covid 19 by the end of September. The Health Minister has sent updated projections saying 7.5 million doses should arrive between April and the end of September. Stephen Donnelly already said 700,000 people should be vaccinated by the end of March. Local Dr. Denis

  The Health Minister has been asked to establish whether additional capacity at St Joseph’s Community Hospital, Stranorlar could be used alleviate pressure at Letterkenny University Hospital. Latest figures show that over 100 people with Covid-19 were being treated at Letterkenny University Hospital yesterday. The pressures facing the hospital were evident on Sunday when patients

  Last night’s Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting heard calls for this summer’s Leaving Cert to be scrapped. Some TDs and Senators argued the exams should be replaced with predictive grades once again. Schools are closed for the rest of the month, but Education Minister and Fianna Fáil TD Norma Foley says the written Leaving

  The Government has been accused of gaslighting the Irish people when it comes to dealing with Covid-19. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle told the Dail last evening that people are fed up with spin from Government and claims people are correcting information falsely being put forward by Government. He says the Government is also refusing

A South Donegal TD has called on the Health Minister to do a side-deal to get greater quantities of the COVID vaccine. It’s after Germany broke out of the EU’s combined purchase effort to get more doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Ireland is getting 1.1 per cent of an agreed group order from the European

Main Evening News, Sport and Obituaries Wednesday January 13th:

Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle has called on the Taoiseach to amend the Commission of Investigation Records Act 2020 to allow survivors and victims of Mother and Baby Homes access to personal data. Deputy Pringle says the right to identity must be respected for the survivors and victims. In October, a bill came before the Dail

The Taoiseach has made a formal state apology to the victims and survivors of Mother and Baby Homes. Micheál Martin told the Dáil that basic kindness was not shown to vulnerable women by either church or state. The Commission of Investigation revealed that 339 children born in or admitted to Stranorlar County Home died. The

A 77 year old man has become the first person in residential services for older people in Donegal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Nicky Hanlon from Ramelton received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine today. Meanwhile, Judie Cabanero CNMI was the first ‘staff’ member to be vaccinated at Ramelton Nursing Unit. Philomena Gallagher, Director of Nursing, St

  The Bishop of Raphoe says there’s no doubt the Catholic Church had far too much influence on society over the time in which Mother and Baby Homes were in operation, and an abject apology must be issued to survivors. The Commission of Investigation looked at the Stranorlar County Home where records suggest 339 children

  Ireland’s set to receive over 1 billion euro from the European Union this year to help it deal with Brexit. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney says it’s proposed the country gets a quarter of this year’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve, which is 4.2 billion euro. The agri-food and fisheries sectors are likely to benefit significantly,