Author name: oisinkelly

The Taoiseach says preparations are proceeding ‘at pace’ for the rollout of a Covid 19 vaccine here. It’s after the UK became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine for widespread use. The first vaccinations will take place in Britain next week with elderly people being prioritised. But Ireland will have to wait a

The Finance Minister is being urged to meet with banks to discuss their obligations to assist Mica affected homeowners in Donegal availing on the Redress Scheme. Donegal Deputies Padraig MacLochlainn and Pearse Doherty have written to the Minister in a bid to improve cooperation between property owners and the banks. As part of the scheme,

The Donegal Intercultural Platform has announced it will establish a “Welcomes Committee” to help coordinate support efforts and social opportunities for the asylum seekers who will move into accommodation on the Port Road in Letterkenny early next year. The platform has been in contact with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to

The manager of Letterkenny University Hospital says initial results from the mass testing of staff are promising, but it is far too early to be complacent about the future. The hospital has had one of the highest Covid-19 admittance rates in the country in recent weeks, there are currently 38 patients with Covid-19 being cared

A number of Donegal TDs will be backing a Solidarity / People Befopre Profit motion in the Dail tonight to have student nurses on placement paid for the work they are doing. In March students nurses were drafted onto the front line, with promises from then Health Minister Simon Harris that they would be paid.

Today is Missing Persons Day, and gardai in Donegal are renewing their appeal for information about Cian Langelaan, who has been missing the end of September. The last confirmed sighting of Cian was in the Hornhead area, and gardai appealing to everyone to keep an eye out for him as they go about their daily

A Donegal businessman has told the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee that there is still a risk of checkpoints being established on the border as a result of the UK’s Internal Markets Bill. Pharmacist Tom Murray, a member of Border Communities Against Brexit told the committee this morning that there is still a disconnect at a local

The need for further development of tourism in East Donegal has been highlighted once again. Councillor Patrick McGowan told Donegal County Council this week that over the years the tourism offering in East Donegal has been ignored. The Council’s Director of Economic Development, Garry Martin has confirmed that going forward, a focus will be placed

Senior officials from both sides of the border will meet today to discuss collaborative regional growth projects, Covid-19 and Brexit. The North West Strategic Growth Partnership which is jointly led by Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council will receive an update on ongoing collaborative work being carried out by both councils

The government’s cancelling plans to raise the state pension age beyond 66 for now. Regulations which would have raised it to 67 next year and 68 in 2028 will be repealed in a social welfare bill next week. The Commission on the Pension Age will continue to deliberate on what the pension age should be.

Business owners fear having to spend Christmas filling out forms and recalculating their prices if Brexit trade talks break down. Negotiations are continuing in London today with less than a month to go before tariffs kick in automatically on New Year’s Eve. The Oireachtas Enterprise committee is meeting today to discuss preparations. Donegal Pharmacist Tom

An Oireachtas Committee will hear later that 84 percent of people want to keep some sort of remote work after the pandemic. The research from the Western Development Commission and NUI Galway also found that 23 percent of people are considering relocating. Officials from the Department of Community and Rural Development will also update politicians

There are calls for Donegal’s County Development Plan to be varied in a bid to mitigate against any future bog slippages, similar to that seen in recent weeks at the site of Meenbog Wind Farm near Barnesmore Gap. Concerns were raised over the impact the bog slippage would have on the local environment. A multi-agency

  Met Eireann is warning of much colder spells for the rest of the week. It has issued an advisory warning for the entire country, warning of ‘sharp to severe’ frosts in parts as well as wintry showers. The warning will be in place from tomorrow afternoon until Friday night. Cathal Nolan is from Ireland

There are calls for Donegal County Council to carry out a survey on small country back roads to ascertain the need for traffic calming measures on such routes. Councillor Paul Canning told the latest sitting of Donegal County Council that the issue has become more prevalent due to an increase in the volume of traffic

Gardaí in Donegal are investigating two burglaries last week, one in Letterkenny, the other from the shore of Lough Foyle in Inishowen. On Wednesday night last, a storage unit was broken into on Neil T.Blaney Road in Letterkenny causing substantial damage, while on Thursday, 230 pre-graded oyster bags were taken from Cabry, Quigleys Point. Gardai

It’s emerged that a seismic event picked up on measuring equipment at St Columba’s College in Stranorlar was not local, but actually an earthquake deep under the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. The readings were picked up on by staff member Brendan O’Donoghue, who says deep earthquakes elsewhere can give initial readings

The Northern Ireland Assembly has heard how a Strabane man upon accepting his battle with Covid-19 was coming to an end, urged people to realise the severity of the virus. Frank Tracey passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning after contracting Covid-19. West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan was contacted by Mr Tracey last

Shops, gyms, hairdressers and places of worship are open again today as level 5 coronavirus restrictions are lifted across the country. People are still being advised to work from home if they can, and not to mix with other households. From today, there’s also a recommendation to wear a face mask outdoors on busy streets.

The Agriculture Minister is urging farmers to take every precaution possible to ensure there isn’t a bird flu epidemic. It’s after five cases among wild birds in the Republic, and two in the North were detected, since the beginning of last month. Ministers from both sides of the border have taken new measures to prevent

A meeting will be held between members of the Letterkenny Milford Municipal District and Government officials on Thursday to discuss the signing of a contract which will see the development of a direct provision centre in Letterkenny. Up to 350 asylum seekers will be housed in former student accomodation on the Port Road in February.

The British government says there won’t be a public inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane. The Belfast solicitor was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989 in front of his family at home. Last year the UK Supreme court ruled there hadn’t been an effective investigation into the murder. Speaking in the House of