Author name: oisinkelly

  One of the big concerns for Donegal and other border counties is that restrictions in the north do not match those in the Republic. Retail remains open in Northern Ireland and their current restrictions are due to expire in mid-November while the lockdown here is due to last until December 1st. It has led […]

  As Donegal braces itself to move to level 5 tomorrow night, people are being urged to continue to shop local during the six week lockdown. Many businesses had been preparing for a normally hectic few months in the run up to Christmas, ordering extra stock and investing in what would have been a busy

  A Donegal Minister says the decision to move to Level 5 wasn’t taken lightly but it is a decision that’s in the best interest of the country. Minister Charlie McConalogue has too defended the Government’s approach not to move to the highest level of restrictions two weeks ago, stating it as a reasonable move

  A Donegal Deputy is demanding answers from Government over its decision not to follow advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team to move to level 5 restrictions a fortnight ago. NEPHT initially advised moving the entire country to Level 5 for at least a three week period but instead it was decided at

  The second lockdown is going to cost the state around 1.2 billion euro in increased social welfare payments alone. There’s been a restoration of the higher, 350 euro a week rate of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment for those who earned more than 400 a week before losing their jobs. Six weeks of level five

  The Teachers’ Union of Ireland want rapid testing as they are to stay open in Level 5. Education Minister Norma Foley says there’s clear evidence that schools are safe for students, teachers and other staff. But the TUI says there’s serious uncertainty about the definitions used for close contacts in schools. Its president Martin

  Around 150,000 people are expected to lose their jobs when level five restrictions kick in from midnight tomorrow. Ireland has become the first European country to enter a second lockdown with all non-essential retail to close. However, some measures are more lenient than level five was planned – with schools to stay open, 25

  Donegal County Council is being urged to buy four houses in Churchill which have been lying unfinished since they were built a number of years ago. The houses are adjacent to The Pines, an estate which has had a problem with running sewage for over two years, and on which action was promised in

  Fears are growing locally over the potential impact a no deal Brexit will have both sides of the border. A no- deal scenario is looking increasingly likely after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote to British businesses which trade with Europe, saying time’s running out to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile EU and

  Questions are being raised over this year’s budget allocation for the Mica Redress Scheme and how it’s being managed. 40 million euro was allocated to the scheme in last year’s budget and while 19 million went back to the exchequer, there’s said to be a lack of clarity as to if they will get

  The owner of Wild Ireland in Donegal has confirmed that one his famous brown bears died over the weekend. Aurnia was one of three brown bears who were rescued from horrible conditions in Lithuania and brought to the animal sanctuary in Burnfoot last year. It’s understood that the bear suffered complications during a procedure

  Further questions are being asked as to why an upgrade to the water supply in south Inishowen is not a priority for Irish Water. Despite a widespread area being impacted by frequent outages and bursts, Irish Water recently outlined that it has no current plans to carry out a full upgrade to the supply

    House prices have increased sharply despite the economic shock of the pandemic — with a national increase of 4.8 per cent in the third quarter of this year. Researchers at Daft-dot-ie say it’s an unexpected trend in their data, given elevated rates of unemployment. However the number of homes being sold on the

  Stamps won’t be needed for mail going in and out of nursing homes until next year. An Post is offering to carry all cards and letters from today until the end of January at no charge. The freepost offer also works for parcels up to two kilos – which would usually cost up to

  A Sinn Féin MLA has urged Royal Mail in Derry to put in place contingency plans for services in the city. Foyle MLA Martina Anderson was contacted by a number of members of staff at the Great James Street Sorting Office with concerns after several postal workers tested positive for Covid-19, while others are

1,283 more people have tested positive for Covid-19 and three more patients have died. It’s a new all-time record, and today is the fifth in a row that the daily total in the Republic has been a thousand or more. There are four hundred and eight cases in Dublin, 156 in Cork, 88 in Kildare,

You can’t negotiate with a deadly virus like Covid-19. That’s according to SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who believes an all island approach is needed to tackle the virus. 1,012 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Northern Ireland The North’s Department of health says 5 more deaths have been confirmed in the past 24 hours.

Hospitals will soon become overwhelmed if we don’t clamp down on rising Covid-19 cases, that’s according to a GP advisor to the HSE. 1,276 new cases were confirmed nationally with 43 new cases in Donegal. As of 8pm last night, there were 14 Covid patients in Letterkenny University hospital and 2 in intensive care. Cabinet