Author name: oisinkelly

A South Donegal TD is calling for an end to the dual pay scales operating within the disability sector. Since 2012, those who work for voluntary organisations in the sector have been treated differently to colleagues working directly for the HSE and other state services. They had their pay cut during the financial crisis, but

Ulster University has launched a consultation on the potential of bringing some health science courses to Magee. Urging people to respond, Foyle MLA Karen Mullan said it’s essential that other health courses be moved from Jordanstown to Derry to augment the new Graduate Entry Medical School which is due to open next year. Karen Mullan

A 41 year old man has been convicted of the murder of a father of five in the Sunset House Pub in Dublin in April 2016. Strabane native Michael Barr died after being shot seven times at close range. David Hunter with an address at Du Cane Road, White City, London has been found guilty

  Danske Bank has confirmed that it’s to close its branch in Strabane later this year. The bank intends to close its doors in the town on the 4th December however it’s understood that staff will not lose their jobs. It comes after Bank of Ireland has also announced a review of services in the

  Bus Eireann confirmed that the portal to apply for a school bus ticket temporarily shut last month because they were overwhelmed with queries and needed to prioritise getting the scheme up and running. An estimated 10,000 pupils in Donegal use Bus Eireann’s school transport system on 540 routes right across the county. All eligible

  An outdoor food market is to be established in the heart of Donegal Town. €25,000 in funding has been awarded for the project under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The market will run weekly, allowing local food producers to showcase their products. Chair of the Donegal MD Cllr Michael Naughton says the move

  A Donegal Senator is calling on the Government to ensure that the travelling community are not discriminated against when the remaining pubs reopen. Under Covid-19 guidelines, groups in pubs must be limited to a maximum of six people from no more than three households. The remaining pubs are due to reopen on September 21st.

A Donegal Deputy is calling for a major funding injection into mental health services as part of the upcoming budget. In its pre-budget submission, Mental Health Reform is seeking an additional €80 million into Ireland’s mental health services to help the system cope with whats been described as increasing demands for treatment as a result

  A lobby group’s accused public health doctors of having “an anti-pub agenda”. The Licenced Vintners’ Association says any extension of pub closures in Dublin will mean some owners will default on their mortgages. The National Public Health Emergency Team is now considering further restrictions in the capital after a rise in the number of

  Sinn Fein says the British Government’s step on Brexit must be opposed in Ireland and the EU. The European Commission’s threatening to sue the UK because it thinks a planned British law would violate the Withdrawal Agreement. The EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier says for there to be any future relationship between the EU

  The points requirements for college courses are up on last year because of grade inflation in this year’s calculated Leaving Cert. This year’s college offers will go live at two o’clock today. Around 3,600 extra college places have been added this year, to ease some of the pressure for high-demand courses. Billy Bennett, Registrar

  A Donegal TD is calling on the government to clearly outline how it intends to address backlog in cancer screening and treatment services. Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn was speaking after a Sinn Féin Dáil motion on the issue was defeated in the Dail last evening. Deputy Mac Lochlainn says they were seeking increased funding to

  A senior figure with Pieta House says they are endeavouring to restore face to face sessions at their Letterkenny facility as quickly as possible. Speaking last evening to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, Pieta’s Advocacy Manager Tom McEvoy said the organisation is absolutely committed to maintaining its Donegal base and restoring all services there.

The EU has threatened legal action if the UK proceeds with legislation that would undermine the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. The statement comes after a high level meeting between officials from the EU and UK. The EU does not accept the argument that the aim of the draft Bill is to protect the Good Friday Agreement.

  The President is urging the public to re-double its efforts to follow public health advice in a bid to suppress Covid-19. Michael D Higgins believes there is a need for “solidarity, care, compassion and kindness” in our collective response to the pandemic. 1,781 people have died from the virus over the past six months,

Residents in the Glencar area of Letterkenny are said to be at their wits end over a spate of antisocial activity in the area. It follows reports of fireworks being let off in a number of estates on a near nightly basis. Community activist Finnian O’Donnell is appealing to those behind the behaviour to stop………

  It’s been confirmed that much sought after land has finally been acquired by Donegal County Council at Swan Park in Buncrana. The land had previously been in private ownership and now the Council has secured the section from Castle Bridge to Westbrook Bridge. The popular amenity is also currently undergoing major restoration works after

There are calls on the relevant tourism bodies to put a bigger emphasis on lesser known places in west Donegal next year. While the county has seen a huge influx of tourists this year, it’s thought that many of them tend to head towards the bigger towns and attractions with smaller villages missing out. Glenties

  A school principal is calling for more buses to transport children to and from special schools in Letterkenny. There’s serious concern among a number of local special schools that the buses taking the students to school are running at full capacity with the majority of the children with special needs not able to wear

  An infectious disease specialist says local area interventions are needed to get the number of Covid-19 cases down. Figures show that there have been 33 new confirmed cases in Donegal in the last two weeks. Professor Sam McConkey is head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of

  The Minister for Higher Education has confirmed that significant progress is being made in relation to the Connacht Ulster Alliance of LYIT, Sligo IT and GMIT in meeting the relevant criteria. The Connacht Ulster Alliance brings together the three Institutes of Technology with a view towards pooling their resources and becoming a Technological University.

  A Donegal Deputy says some of the current restrictions just don’t make any sense. The Health Minister signed a statutory instrument bringing the measures, including those on indoor and outdoor gatherings, into law. The motion was debated in the Dail last evening and is due to be voted on today. Speaking in the Dail,

  There’s ‘no chance’ of a US-UK trade deal making it through the US Congress if the UK violates the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. That’s according to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has warned the British government not to undermine the Good Friday Agreement. Boris Johnson is considering changing parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, which

  A Donegal County Councillor says lives will be lost if the backlog in cancer screening and treatment is not addressed. There are urgent calls on the Government to come up with the necessary funding to tackle the backlog and to restore services to pre-Covid levels. Medical oncology services are operating at about 70 per

  A West Tyrone MLA is calling for more supports for teachers in the North following a spike in Covid-19 cases in schools there. It’s after 64 schools across Northern Ireland reported positive Covid cases in their schools on the first week children returned to schools with three is the west Tyrone area. MLA Daniel