Author name: oisinkelly

  Household visits are banned nationwide as new Covid-19 restrictions came into effect overnight. While Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan are now under level 4 restrictions, meaning shops that sell non-essential items are not allowed to open for four weeks. In addition, no more than six people from two households can meet outdoors. It comes as

  The HSE spent nearly 4.5 million euro on private ambulances in the first six months of this year. According to freedom of information figures, Letterkenny University Hospital’s bill was the highest, at 629,000 euro. Private ambulance providers are used for non-urgent cases when the National Ambulance Service isn’t available. Lifeline Ambulance Service got over

A four-week lockdown in Northern Ireland begins at 6 o’clock this evening. Pubs and restaurants will be forced to close, apart from for takeaways and deliveries. Schools and colleges will shut for two weeks, but retail shops will remain open – unlike in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. Donegal GP Denis McCauley says people are likely

  Donegal County Council has confirmed a junction in Milford is being prioritised for an application for emergency funding. Cllr Liam Blaney told Letterkenny Municipal District that the crossroads, which is close to the Old Technical school, has been the scene of several accidents, the most recent on the first if this month. He called

  The Mayor of Letterkenny Municipal District says Donegal County Council should begin working on plans for greenways on both sides of the Swilly. Cllr Donal Coyle says work should start now on the development of greenways to link up with similar facilities which are already at the planning stage. He acknowledges it’s an ambitious

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has told the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement that supporting North-South transport links is a very practical expression of cross border cooperation. He said the government remains committed to the A5 upgrade, and is also committed to other infrastructural projects. Minister Coveney also acknowledged that

EU leaders will get an update on EU UK trade talks at a summit in Brussels, which is getting underway. Today is the deadline set by the British Prime Minister to reach a deal. However some European leaders believe agreement can still be reached with Britain on a future trading relationship. Speaking as he arrived

  With thousands of people in Donegal set to lose their jobs again from midnight tonight, the issue of the amount currently paid through the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been raised in the Dail this afternoon. The rate of the payment was reduced from 350 euro almost a month ago, falling to €300 for workers

  The General Manager of Letterkenny University Hospital says they are seeing a steady increase of Covid patients at the hospital and measures are being taken to ensure that ICU is adequately staffed and operational. Escalation plans have been implemented at the hospital and in order to sustain that, staff will be have to be

  A Donegal GP says the Living with Covid plan is about trying to control people’s behaviour and he has been seeing worrying trends developing in the county in terms of some not adhering to guidelines. Dr Paul Armstrong who is also the Clinical Lead of the Covid Hub centre in Letterkenny says the reality

  A leading health expert says if Covid-19 affected animals instead of people, we would undoubtedly be dealing with it on an all-island basis. Dr Gabriel Scally is rowing in behind calls for a singular approach by both Governments to respond to the crisis. Yesterday saw a record daily number of over 2,300 confirmed cases

  Cllr Nicholas Crossan feels the decision to move Donegal to Level Four was the right one. Twenty nine new confirmed cases were recorded in Donegal yesterday with the county reporting slightly lower numbers in recent days when compared with weeks previous. But Cllr Crossan says we still have a long way to go to

  A Government Minister says while the number of positive Covid-19 cases in Donegal appears to be stabilising, the rate of infection is still high and so a decision was taken to move to level 4. Donegal has been on Level three for over two weeks now and there’s concern that the county wasn’t given

  A Donegal Deputy says the retail sector in Donegal must be protected as the county moves to Level Four. Retail is to remain open in Northern Ireland while non-essential retail is to shut here under the new restrictions. Speaking in the Dail last night, Deputy Joe McHugh says people had started shopping for Christmas,

  A Government Minister says banning household visits could be a ‘gamechanger’ in curbing the spread of Covid 19. A nationwide ban on visiting people’s homes is coming into place from midnight with exceptions for things like childcare. Level four restrictions will also come into effect for Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, meaning all non-essential retail

  The Stormont executive is expected to meet later to discuss a financial support package for businesses in Northern Ireland forced to close due to new Covid-19 restrictions. From tomorrow, pubs and restaurants will close for four weeks with the exception of takeaways and deliveries. Beauticians, hairdressers and barbers will also have to close –

  Hotels in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan will only be able to accommodate existing guests and essential workers under level 4. Paul Diver, Donegal Chair of the IHF and owner of the Sandhouse Hotel, says moving the county to level four will cost its tourism industry hundreds of thousands of euro: He believes the move

From midnight tonight, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan will be placed on level four restrictions until November 10th. It means all non-essential retail will close, only key workers should travel to work, while gyms and hairdressers will close. The entire country has also been placed on an enhanced level three, where all visits to homes or

  Donegal County Council’s Mica Redress Committee is set to meet in the next fortnight to discuss progress with the scheme so far. A report presented to Councillors this week shows that since the Scheme opened in July, less than fifty applications have been received, with further information and technical clarifications sought in the majority

  There were twice as many clusters of Covid-19 linked to schools last week than the week before. There were 25 last week, compared to just 12 during the previous seven days. There were also 352 clusters in private households last week, which is down slightly. Labour’s education spokesman, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, says the outbreaks

Cabinet Ministers will meet at 7pm this evening to consider moving border counties to level four restrictions. It comes after a four week circuit breaker lockdown was announced for Northern Ireland. It’s expected further restrictions will be placed on Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. Independent TD for Donegal Thomas Pringle says he thinks the government should

The President of Letterkenny Chamber says local businesses are anxiously awaiting confirmation of what is to happen in Donegal in light of the Circuit Breaker lockdown announcement. This week, the chambers in Letterkenny and Derry met on the border in an effort to encourage people in the North West to take on board the public

A record number of Coronavirus cases have been recorded in the north in the last 24 hours. There were 1217 new cases of Covid 19 and four additional deaths. Meanwhile, a four week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown will come into effect in Northern Ireland on Friday. The measures include an extended Halloween break for schools, which

Senior government officials met this morning to discuss moving Donegal, Cavan & Monaghan to level 4 restrictions. It’s likely that a full cabinet meeting will be called later after today’s Northern Ireland announcement. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says moving border counties to level 4 is under consideration……..

    The principal of Holy Cross School in Strabane says the first term of any school year is crucial and the latest lockdown will be seriously disruptive to children’s learning. Schools in the North are to shut for an extended Halloween break with the extra week deemed as a holiday. Students both sides of