Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal County Council is currently preparing a Local Transport Plan for Letterkenny The Council says National Policy as contained in the National Planning Framework (NPF) and Ireland’s Climate Change Strategy are central to the development of the plan as they set out targets for tackling climate change by providing/encouraging more sustainable transportation modes. The Local

The HSE’s chief executive is warning people to expect more waves of Covid-19. Paul Reid will tell the Oireachtas coronavirus committee today it’s increasingly evident the country needs to plan for that scenario. He’ll also say the HSE is preparing for a ‘worst possible scenario’ this winter – involving a resurgence of Covid and a

The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has risen here, after Covid restrictions were strengthened in Donegal. 5,949 will receive the payment in the county today, compared to 5,823 a week ago. Nationally, 217,142, people will receive the payment today at a total cost of just under 62 million euro Meanwhile,

22 new cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Donegal. 390 new cases of the virus have been confirmed across the country by the Department of Health today, with no further deaths. Of today’s cases 209 are in Dublin, with 27 Cork, 22 Donegal, 21 in Galway and 14 in Kildare and Monaghan. Two thirds

Bank of Ireland has announced that it is to close its branches in Bunbeg, Bundoran and Glenties temporarily. They say the decision was taken to help ensure continuity of service at its larger Letterkenny branch. The redeployment of staff from the three smaller branch locations is said to be to support colleague self-isolation while ensuring

The second victim of a fatal crash in Creeslough at the start of the month has died. The collision occurred on Tuesday September 1st at around 9:30pm at Derryart. 19-year-old Jamie Bonner from Dungloe was pronounced dead at the scene. Michael McGinley, Feymore, Creeslough, a passenger, passed away yesterday at Letterkenny University Hospital.

This year’s #LoveDonegal Day reached millions of people across the globe. On September 16th scores of people took to social media to share their stories, pictures, videos and memories of why they love Donegal. #LoveDonegal trended at number one of Twitter for 12 hours, reaching 17 million users. Garry Martin, Director of Economic Development with

The mortgage payment break scheme will not be extended – instead banks will continue offering payment breaks on a case by case basis only. It follows a meeting between a number of government ministers and the CEOs of AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, KBC and PTSB earlier. The scheme is due to end on

220 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland today. No new deaths have been reported. The total number of cases in the North now stands at 10,949. The incidence rate in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area continues to rise. 355 people have tested positive for the virus in the area

House prices in regional towns are rising twice as much as prices in bigger towns and cities, according to the Real Estate Alliance. It indicates that house hunters are returning to their native counties as they take advantage of working from home. As a whole, Donegal registered the third highest average increase in the country.

More than 85,000 people around the country are now waiting on a driving test. Road Safety Authority figures seen by the Irish Examiner show the average wait time for a test is now nearly eight months, up from six weeks pre-Covid-19. There are three test centres in Donegal, Buncrana, Donegal Town, and Letterkenny. The RSA

Donegal County Council will today decide what the rate of Local Property Tax will be in the county next year. The rate was increased by 15% a year ago, and cannot be increased beyond that. The Council can resolve to maintain the increase, return to the baseline rate or decrease the property tax by a

23 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Donegal this evening. 430 cases of the virus have been identified across the country while no new deaths have been reported – the highest number of cases reported in a day since April. The death toll remains at 1,802 while the total number of cases now

187 new cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours. It’s a decrease from the previous two day’s figures which were record totals for the North. No new deaths have been reported in the past day. The 7 day incidence rate for the Derry City and Strabane District Council

The incidence rate of Covid-19 in Donegal remains the highest in the country. The infection rate has now increased to 178.4 per 100,000 of the population. So far this week there have been 170 cases of Covid-19 identified in Donegal. The County will remain under Level 3 restrictions until at least October 16th in a

A Donegal hotel has apologised after offering rooms to locals for €2 to get around the ban on indoor dining. Since yesterday, the county has been on Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions, which includes only eating outdoors at restaurants for up to 15 people. The Beach Hotel in Downings had offered a special rate for people

A Foyle MLA says a coordinated financial package should be put in place to secure the future of City of Derry Airport. Martina Anderson, Sinn Fein’s Spokesperson on Tackling Regional Inequalities says such an initiative must have input from the Irish Government and Donegal County Council, to reflect the cross border nature of the airport’s

An investigation is underway to identify organisers of an anti-lockdown protest in Donegal yesterday afternoon. Dozens of people gathered in the Market Square, Letterkenny to hear speeches against Covid 19 restrictions. Gardai aren’t looking into breaches of public health rules by those attending as social distancing and mask wearing are “non-penal regulations”. But they are

A new Covid-19 test centre is opening in Donegal Town. The HSE confirmed this morning that the pop-up centre, situated at the Cleary Centre on the Ballybofey Road offers free testing for anyone with coronavirus symptoms, who is referred by a GP. The new centre opens tomorrow, with the aim of increasing capacity by 150

Since midnight, Donegal has moved into Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions in response to rising case numbers. The county has now overtook Dublin as the area with the highest infection rate, with 148.2. per 100,000 people. Dublin’s figure currently stands at 145 cases. Donegal is the fifth county to face temporary localised restrictions and the second,

Motorists are being urged to ‘look out for love-crazed deer on Irish roads’. Rutting season is about to begin and male deer can travel miles to look for a mate. The council warns the most common time to find them crossing roads is at dawn and dusk, which coincides with fading light and morning and

The Union of Students in Ireland says the Government must support student renters due to new restrictions in colleges. It’s after Higher Education Minister Simon Harris announced most students have to do their courses online for the next three weeks. Colleges and universities across the country have also been told to strictly limit those on