Author name: oisinkelly

The BreastCheck programme has confirmed it will resume breast screening on Tuesday next, 27 October 2020. A new text management system is in place to maximise appointment uptake, and letters are being sent out first to those who were due to be seen in >arch. The service was paused on 16 March 2020 due to

The family of 27 year old Cian Langelaan is urging people to keep an eye out for him over the holiday weekend. Cian has been missing from the Falcarragh area for almost four weeks, with the last confirmed sighting at Horn Head at the end of September. Cian’s mother Anthea says he could be anywhere………….

The Donegal Road Safety Working Group is urging all road users to stay safe and be seen. The clocks going back this weekend, longer periods of darkness in the mornings and evenings, alongside worsening weather conditions are all said to potentially heighten the risk on the roads. So far this year nine people in Donegal

  Nursing Homes Ireland says we cannot see a repeat of the tragedy in nursing homes early on during the pandemic. The outbreak among the majority of residents at a Galway facility has been described as very disturbing. The HSE says it’s providing support to the care home. Nursing Homes Ireland Chief Executive, Tadhg Daly

  Donegal had almost a third of their labour force in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment at the peak of lockdown in April. Prior to the most recent restrictions, in early October, Donegal has also seen the largest percentage decline in PUP, with large numbers flowing onto wage subsidy supports. Early signs from the

  A Donegal Pharmacist believes there could have been a bigger recruitment and training drive over the summer to ensure healthcare settings had adequate backup resources ahead of the second wave of Covid-19. Margaret O’Doherty, a Pharmacist in Raphoe, was reacting to developments in Galway, where the majority of residents and staff in a nursing

  The Sinn Féin leader says the wealth and prosperity generated by a United Ireland would far outweigh the cost. It comes after the Taoiseach said a border poll would not be on the Government’s agenda for the next five years. Micheál Martin made the comments at the launch of the Shared Island Initiative, which

  It’s anticipated that significant progress will be made with the Mica Redress Scheme in the coming days after ten applications have passed stage one this week. The homeowners in question have received their letter of eligibility to move to stage two with more affected people due to move through the process next week. Homeowners

  Business owners are being warned even if Brexit talks end in a deal, there will still be major disruption. The EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and his counterpart Britain’s David Frost resumed talks yesterday. Downing Street says there are still “significant gaps”. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney is warning tariffs and quotas could

  The Chief Medical Officer says he’s not concerned about the breakdown in the contact tracing system. The HSE asked 2,500  people who tested positive to do their own contact tracing after the system became overwhelmed. A further 1,066 cases were confirmed last night, along with three additional deaths. The national 14 day incidence rate

  A West Tyrone MLA says he believes the A5 can be delivered on time following a speech by the Taoiseach yesterday. In a ‘Shared Island’ presentation, Michael Martin reaffirmed the Irish Government’s commitment to a number of projects including the A5. Daniel McCrossan says this, coupled with assurances he’s had from Minister Nicola Mallon,

  A Midlands-North-West MEP says there’s a lot in the new Common Agricultural Policy that will benefit farmers. CAP has been the focus of debate and division within the European Parliament this week, with MEPs voting on dozens of amendments. Maria Walsh admits it’s a contentious issue, but says there are positives in the package:

It’s emerged that only one nurse and one care assistant have been caring for 27 residents in a nursing home in the west. It’s claimed that 25 out of 27 residents in the home have tested positive for Covid-19, while one of them has died. It was also claimed 7 out of 8 nursing staff

    A Donegal Deputy believes that years of chronic underinvestment in the health service is the root of the contact tracing controversy. Up to 15,000 people may have been affected by issues with Covid-19 contact tracing over the weekend. The HSE has asked thousands of people who have tested positive for the disease to

  There are fears that rural bus operators may be omitted from a new Covid-19 support scheme. The scheme, which was introduced just last week, is being administered through Failte Ireland and aims to give additional supports to bus operators who suffered a loss of income due to the pandemic. Speaking in the Dail Deputy

  A Stranorlar GP is warning while Covid-19 seems to be stabilising in Donegal, there can be no room for complacency. There were 48 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Donegal last night. The incidence rate in Donegal now stands at 320.4 per 100,000 people and currently ranks eighth highest nationwide. Meanwhile the incidence rate

  The Minister for Further and Higher Education says in terms of education, there is a gapping space in the North West that needs to be addressed. Minister Simon Harris was responding to Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle who questioned the Minister on the number of students travelling from Northern Ireland to study in the Republic.

  Royal Mail has confirmed that it will be introducing additional Christmas staff sooner this year in an attempt to address a number of issues facing the service across Tyrone. For a number of weeks, the delivery of post has been delayed in the Strabane area due to a 30% reduction in staff. Meanwhile, grave