Author name: oisinkelly

    A Donegal grandmother has hit out at the major delays children are facing for speech and language therapy in the county. “Breid”, whose grandson was due to be called in May, is still waiting on the much needed service despite being told he was second on the list. The three year old had […]

  Pubs will turn on their Christmas lights tonight in a protest about not being allowed to reopen. Trade groups say that publicans have only been able to trade for two weeks out of the last 37. It will happen at 5pm. Vintners’ Federation boss Donall O’Keeffe says they’re hoping the public will join their

  A Donegal County Councillor and local publican says many businesses in Donegal have lost hope in being able to reopen in December. Donegal went to Level 3 restrictions before the rest of the country and seemed to be working initially yet despite Level 5 being in place for over a month now, the rate

  Thousands of people in Inishowen are said to be impacted by issues at the NCT centre in Carndonagh. The centre, which serves the entire peninsula, is currently only facilitating part of the test with people having to travel to Letterkenny for the remainder. It’s understood that it’s stemming from a flooding issue at the

  The Chief Medical Officer is warning that we need to make up for the time lost over the last week, when the decline of Covid-19 stalled. Daily case numbers had been declining rapidly during the first three weeks of level 5 restrictions, but this stopped suddenly over the last seven days. It’s partially because

  Northern Ireland will go back into a circuit breaker lockdown next week – to stop hospitals being overwhelmed due to Covid-19. Hairdressers and cafes open today after five weeks of closures – however they will be forced to shutter again next week. It means the hospitality industry there will be closed for eight weeks.

The President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology has told an Oireachtas committee that while Brexit will have an impact on education in the region, there are huge opportunities for growth in the years ahead. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement was discussing the Cross-Border Further Education and Higher Education Cluster,

Donegal based Senator Eileen Flynn has been elected chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community. The committee has 14 members: nine Deputies and five Senators. Senator Flynn was the first member of the Traveller Community to be appointed to the Seanad, and has now become the first Traveller to

Stormont ministers have been warned that unless tough new Coronavirus restrictions are introduced in the North – not even a full lockdown in mid December will prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. Health minister Robin Swann is understood to have put forward new proposals including the introduction of localised travel restrictions within Northern Ireland. The Executive

In a joint statement, Donegal’s two Sinn Féin TD’s have repeated calls for more urgent government support for Letterkenny University Hospital as the Covid crisis there deepens. Speaking in the Dáil this week, Deputy Mac Padraig Mac Lochlainn told the Taoiseach that there were 133 staff off work as of Friday last, with that number

    One of the country’s leading teachers union says school staff and students should be prioritised once a Covid vaccine is available. Two vaccines have proven to be 95 per cent effective in trials so far. Ireland is set to get over 2 million doses of the Pfizer jab once it’s approved for distribution.

  A Donegal Deputy has described residents near the landslide at Meenbog receiving letters just days after the incident informing them of a second wind farm development near the site as ‘beyond belief’. A full investigation into the developments at the site of the landslide near Ballybofey is underway. Deputy Pearse Doherty believes that the

  A crash outside Magherabeg National School in Manorcunningham has sparked fresh safety fears. The two vehicle collision happened shortly before 3pm yesterday afternoon on the busy main Letterkenny – Derry road. Both teachers and parents had previously campaigned for traffic calming measures outside the school and while periodic speed limit signs were installed, it’s

  The Arranmore Island Co-op has received funding to carry out a study on a proposed Blueway project. The initiative would extended the greenway in Burtonport onto Arranmore via the ferry, offering a walking or cycling route from a mainland setting to an inhabited offshore island. Cllr Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says this would complement

  Some schools are not following Covid-19 guidelines, according to a teacher union. At today’s Oireachtas Education Committee, the Teachers Union of Ireland will call for enforcement where non-compliance is found. Meanwhile Forsa will voice its concern at the lack of clarity regarding the supply of PPE to staff, and will accuse the Department of

  The Taoiseach says a decision on exiting Level 5 restrictions will be made next week. Micheál Martin told a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last night that he wants people to have a ‘wholesome and enjoyable’ Christmas. A Dáil debate on exiting Level 5 in early December will take place on Tuesday,

  A Derry City and Strabane District Councillor says Health Trusts must put in place a system to ensure that nurses are not penalised for parking in the hospitals where they work. Cllr Jason Barr says he’s been told that on a number of occasions, nurses have come out from shifts at Altnagelvin Hospital to

  The Dail has been told that the success or failure of the National Broadband Plan will be one of the litmus tests on which the current Government is judged. Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn told Rural Development Minister Heather Humphreys that Covid-19 has shone a light on the fact that broadband is no longer a

The Taoiseach has told the Dail that whatever resources are needed to fight Covid-19 at Letterkenny University Hospital will be provided, but the key to easing the pressure is widespread adherence to restrictions. Michael Martin was responding to Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn, who told the Dail that 133 staff were off as a result of the

The Taoiseach has told the Dail he believes that offshore wind farms will replace onshore wind farms in the years ahead. Michael Martin was responding to Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle, who asked when a review of planning legislation relating to wind farms will be completed. Deputy Pringle told the Dail last week’s peat slide close