Author name: oisinkelly

  End-of-term school celebrations are to be restricted this year due to Covid-19. New advice is to be issued to schools from the Department of Education. Parents will not be able to attend end-of-term school celebrations such as nativity plays under public health guidelines. Schools are to be told to record performances so parents and

  The Covid-19 pandemic has created a backlog of 95,000 court cases. The Irish Independent says the restrictions on court business after the March lockdown led to thousands of cases not receiving a hearing date. They include speeding, theft, drugs and some assault offences. It could be the middle of next year before the backlog’s

  The Police Service of Northern Ireland has launched its annual domestic abuse Christmas campaign. Scheduled to run until mid-January, the aim of the campaign is to encourage the reporting of incidents and make victims aware they can take steps to stop it. The campaign’s message is ‘Speak Out’. It will be promoted via online

  The demand for children’s mental health services has increased by almost a quarter since 2012. The Department of Health says there are over 2,100 boys and girls on the waiting list for specialist care. The department will tell the Oireachtas mental health sub-committee today demand for mental health services has increased substantially in recent

  The HSE says its aiming to allow partners of pregnant people attend scans from next week. It’s re-classifying them as ‘essential companions’ for the foetal anomaly check. That is typically offered to women around 20 weeks into pregnancy. If a case of Covid-19 is identified in a maternity facility, restrictions on visits could be

  A further 5 people with COVID-19 have died Meanwhile, 227 new cases of the virus have been confirmed, 26 of the new cases are in Donegal. The national 14-day incidence rate now at 79.5 while Donegal’s is 226.8. The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan says there were 8 new admissions into ICU today,

  Management have confirmed that Letterkenny University Hospital is extremely busy this evening. This has resulted in ongoing pressure on bed availability in the hospital with patients currently experiencing long waiting times to be admitted from the Emergency Department to an acute bed in the hospital. Once again, the hospital reminds the public to attend

  Another 483 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, and 12 patients have died. Seven of the deaths took place in the past 24 hours. 3,220 people were tested in a one-day period, with a positivity rate of 15 per cent. 425 patients are in hospital with the virus in the North,

The Head of Business at Letterkenny Institute of Technology has been elected president of Letterkenny Chamber. Michael Margey was confirmed as Chamber President at a special AGM which took place last night on Zoom. He replaces outgoing president Jimmy Stafford. Michael Margey says while there are challenges ahead, he is optimistic:

A number of shots were fired at a house in the Rossdowney Drive area of Derry last night. Police say no injuries were reported as a result of the gun attack, which was reported at around 11:10pm. The PSNI say up to nine shots were fired at a property, one of which went through the

Irish Water and Donegal County Council are investigating problems with the output from the Owentskna Water Treatment Plant, which is affecting Glencolmcille, Malinmore, Malinbeg, and surrounding areas. Irish Water says reduced water production and increased water demand were first experienced on Sunday, and crews have been working to reconfigure the network and restore water to

Detectives in Derry City and Strabane District have arrested two men in the Waterside area of the city this morning as part of ongoing investigations into criminality linked to the UDA. The men, aged 33 and 46, were arrested under the Terrorism Act and have been taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for interview.

Derry City and Strabane District Council Leisure Centres will reopen to the public for gym sessions and lane swimming only from Friday. Derg Valley Leisure Centre, the Foyle Arena, Templemore Sports Complex and Riversdale Leisure Centre will all reopen whiles users must continue to pre-book their sessions at derrystrabane.com/leisure. In line with the lifting of

215 more people have tested positive for Covid-19 here, and another patient has died. 74 of the new cases were recorded in Dublin, 22 in Donegal, 15 in Kilkenny, 14 in Louth and 11 in Limerick. The national average infection rate over the last fortnight is 80.2 per hundred thousand people. Donegal’s 14 day incidence

A Donegal TD has welcomed the announcement that a Christmas Bonus of almost €3m is to be paid into the bank accounts of over 10,000 Donegal people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The Christmas Bonus of €2,974,255 is to be paid into the bank accounts of 10,389 Donegal people in receipt of the

Detectives from the PSNI’s Terrorism Investigation Unit, with support from An Garda Siochana, have conducted a search of land at the Killea Reservoir on the border of Derry and Donegal. Police say this is part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the New IRA. Derry City and Strabane Area Coordinator Chief Superintendent Darrin

  An investigation is continuing into two separate incidents of theft at The Pier, The Grange, Inch Island. Both thefts happened last month from the same victim. The first theft occurred between Friday the 27th of November at 10.30pm and Saturday the 28th of November at 2am. A total of 15 full oyster bags were

  Cllr Albert Doherty has been elected as the new Chairperson of Donegal Education and Training Board. The Board of Donegal ETB is made up of twelve elected representatives, two staff, two parents, two local industry and three sectoral interest representatives. Donegal ETB is the largest education and training provider in the county, managing fifteen

  Gardai in Donegal have been clamping down on drink and drug drivers. Over the past week alone, there have been five arrests for drink driving, 1 arrest for intoxicated in charge of a vehicle and 6 arrests for drug driving offences across the Donegal Garda Division. Gardai are appealing to all road users to

  Two tyres have been slashed on a car in Ballybofey. The incident happened at some stage between 10.30pm on Wednesday and 2.30pm on Thursday last in the Silverwood area. A resident in that area had parked their car outside their home and discovered later that the tyres on the car had been slashed. Gardai

  Black ice is reportedly affecting some areas in Donegal this morning. While primary routes have been gritted, some of the minor routes are untreated. Motorists are being advised to drive with care on the Letterleague road outside Letterkenny and the road at Brockagh. Gardai also issued a warning over black ice last night following

  Covid-19 testing will be available at Knock Airport in Co. Mayo from today. Air passengers, members of the public and local businesses will be able to avail of the walk-in service. It’ll be operated by RocDoc, who run similar drive-thru testing facilities at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. Two tests are available – however