Author name: oisinkelly

  Black ice could be a major issue this morning, according to the Road Safety Authority. Temperatures dropped to minus 4 in parts overnight, with two status yellow weather warnings for ice and snow in place. Met Eireann says the conditions will lead to treacherous conditions in some areas. Michael Rowland from the RSA says […]

  The Vice President of the Garda Representative Association says Gardai must be prioritised in the Covid-19 vaccine roll out. It’s understood that there a number of outbreaks of the virus among the force in the North West. There’s similar calls north of the border by the Chair of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland

  Garda Covid-19 checkpoints will be in place across the country from this morning. They will be set up on national routes, but not on motorways, and will be supported by random local mobile checkpoints. Additional gardaí are being deployed to the front line and high visibility patrols of public amenities and parks will be

  The Teachers Union of Ireland says it will not be safe to reopen schools for leaving cert students next week. Most schools are to remain closed for the rest of January, but leaving cert students will resume classes for three days a week from Monday. Education for special needs children will also recommence that

  Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn has described proposals to limit Dail sittings to one day a week for January as totally unacceptable. The proposal, by the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, aimed at tackling rising infection rates, will come before the business committee today. If approved, sittings would be held on a Wednesday in Dublin’s

New restrictions have been unveiled by the Government to contain the spread of Covid 19 and will remain in place until at least the end of January. All schools are to remain closed, with an exception for leaving cert students, who will attend classes three days a week. Special education should remain open with protections

The North’s Education Minister has confirmed that all GCSE and A Level exams due to take place this year have been cancelled. Some exams were to get underway as early as next week. Peter Weir made the announcement at Stormont this afternoon – where he has also been outlining the details of school closures. All

A school principal in Inishowen believes the surge in Covid-19 cases numbers is down to some people ‘playing chicken’ with the virus. Diarmuid Walsh who is Principal of St. Mary’s NS in Malin says while they are somewhat better prepared for online teaching it will be undoubtedly challenging for both parents and teachers in the

Two separate weather warnings for snow and low temperatures have been issued for the entire country. From 8 o’clock tonight a low temperature/ice warning will come in to effect for all 26 counties, with temperatures set to dip to lows of minus four. A status yellow snow and ice alert will also kick in at

  The Marine Minister says it’s still unclear how the situation will be resolved as it relates to Inishowen fishermen now having to travel to Killybegs to land their catch. Previously, the Irish fishermen with Coleraine registered boats were able to dock at nearby Greencastle but as a result of Brexit, they are prevented from

A Donegal woman whose son was killed in a crash involving a disqualified driver says new plans by the RSA to name and shame motorists won’t go far enough. Under the plans announced yesterday, motorists who are banned for drink-driving, dangerous driving and other serious road traffic offences by the courts will have their personal

  A woman has been waiting a year to get a tumour removed at Letterkenny University Hospital. Lynette’s situation has been described as ‘urgent’ yet a number of planned operations throughout 2020 have been cancelled. Letterkenny University Hospital, like all hospitals nationwide has cancelled the majority of surgeries for the next couple of weeks due

  A Donegal-based Senator believes that the Government has not given proper consideration to the county and Letterkenny University Hospital throughout the pandemic. Letterkenny University Hospital was at a severe crisis point before Christmas with significant staff outages due to Covid-19. It has been argued that the issue did not gain enough national attention when

It’s expected thousands of workers who were put on wage subsidies last year will be told next week of any taxes due. Employees who were on the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment must settle outstanding Revenue bills, which could amount to more than 1,000 euro. The taxes are due as the

  Consumers are being warned additional taxes and charges now apply when buying online from the UK. The arrangements came into place on January 1st, after its exit from the EU. Among the changes, customs duty may apply to goods over 150 euro, while VAT will apply on those over 22 euro. Junior Business Minister,

  Sinn Fein’s Spokesperson for Fisheries and the Marine says the Government should have known tensions around Rockall would be reignited as a result of Brexit. On Monday, a Donegal fishing boat was stopped from entering waters around Rockall by a Scottish patrol vessel and its skipper told they could no longer fish within 12

Drivers are being urged to be very careful on the roads this morning, after temperatures dropped to minus-five in parts overnight. A status yellow low temperature warning is in place for Donegal with the alert running until 10 o’clock this morning, but Met Eireann is warning of icy conditions for much of the day. Motorists

  873 people with Covid-19 were being treated in hospital last night – just eight patients fewer than the peak in April. There were 75 people with the disease in ICU. 5,325 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed yesterday, along with 17 further deaths associated with the virus – 238 of the new cases were

  Schools will be closed in Northern Ireland until at least mid-February – but special schools will stay open. They are among the measures agreed by the Stormont Executive last night, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. From Friday, the PSNI will start to enforce a new law that will compel people to stay at

The Army should be used to rollout the Covid 19 vaccine, according to a South Donegal TD. There has been criticism over the low level of vaccinations that have taken place in the country, since the Pfizer vaccine was approved. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said yesterday the vaccination target has increased from 20,000 to 35,000

Schools are set to remain closed for the rest of the month. The cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19 is meeting to discuss the closure of schools, with construction sites also on the agenda. Social education needs will be given special consideration while the 5 kilometre limit is likely to remain as it is. The Government says

  A Donegal crèche Manager says while they’re happy to provide childcare throughout the lockdown, they still have grave concerns over the level of Covid-19 in the community. Wonder Years Childcare in Letterkenny is open but only operating with just over half of its usual staff due to a number of the team being deemed