Author name: oisinkelly

The roadmap for exiting Coronavirus restrictions has been sped up with much of phase four moved to the end of June. Pubs, hairdressers, barbers, cinemas and restaurants can all open from the end of this month. Mass can return with a cap of 50 people attending and up to 200 people can meet outdoors, with

The President of the European Commission says it is not certain where Brexit negotiations will be at the end of the year. Ursula Van Der Leyen was commenting after an EU leaders summit wich was held by video link today. They were responding to Britain’s decision not to apply for an extension to the transition

  It’s been claimed that not all children are being treated equally under a summer education plan announced by the Government. The Summer Provision programme is normally available to children with special needs; however this year it will open to children with behavioural problems and those with intellectual disabilities. But second level students with Down

  An Post is to give its full-time staff 300 euro One4All vouchers for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part-time staff will be given vouchers on a pro-rata basis. Over 1 million extra parcels have been delivered during the pandemic compared to the same period last year. General Secretary of the Communications Workers’ Union

  Books of condolence are open at Letterkenny, Buncrana, Milford and Ballyshannon Garda Stations for people to pay their respects to Detective Garda Colm Horkan. The 49 year old was shot dead with his own gun in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon late on Wednesday night. A man in his 40s was arrested and remains in Garda

  The Health Minister is to contact the HSE directly to ensure that there is no interruption to the supply of PPE and other equipment to Donegal following Monday’s fire in Letterkenny. A large number of supplies were destroyed in a HSE storage building close to Watson Hire. The HSE has stated this that contingency

  A man in his 40s and his teenage son have died in a drowning incident near Kilmacrenan. They were holidaying in the area and went fishing in Lough Keel yesterday. But they got into difficulty and their bodies were recovered from the lake last night. Another teenage boy – from the same family –

  The number of people on the waiting list for driving tests is said to have skyrocketed with over 1,500 waiting in Donegal. Nationally, the figures show that there are over 55,000 people waiting for a driving test across the 49 testing centres in the country. It has led to calls for more clarity as

  The government will consider new advice today on whether hairdressers and barbers should be allowed to re-open sooner than planned. They’re not due to open until July 20th, but that could be brought forward to June 29th as the lifting of lockdown measures is sped up. A further 4 people with Covid 19 have

  Principals in Northern Ireland are expected to get guidance today on how schools will operate when they fully reopen in August. Yesterday it was announced that social distancing rules will be relaxed from two metres to one for pupils. Graham Gault is a principal of a primary school in Co. Antrim and says he

  The Courts Service while acknowledging that a refurbishment is vital, has yet to make a decision on restoring services to Carndonagh courthouse. In a response received by Councillor Albert Doherty, following receipt of a recent survey, the Courts Service has said overall expenditure is required in both the short term to remedy immediate defects

Main Evening News, Sport, Farming News and Obituaries Thursday June 18th:

    Serious concern has been raised over potential extra payments facing mortgage holders who have taken a payment break because of Covid-19. By 28th May, close to 80,000 mortgage holders have applied for a payment break however, the move could mean higher debt and interest charges in the long run. Sinn Féin spokesperson on

  Letterkenny businessman John Watson has said while coming to terms with losing his business has been difficult, the potential loss of life would have been so much worse. An investigation is continuing to determine the cause of the devastating fire at Watson Hire on Monday evening. The blaze broke out just as John and

  Fianna Fail members in Donegal are receiving their ballot papers this morning to cast their postal vote on the Programme for Government. There are just under 1,000 Fianna Fail members in the county eligible to cast their vote however there’s said to be a major split within the party locally over plans to enter

    It’s been confirmed that both the Swilly and Foyle ferry services will resume next month. Both ferries are to set sail for the summer season on July 20th and will run until the end of September however there are hopes locally that the date could be brought forward pending how the lifting of

  An infectious diseases expert says hairdressers and barbers should be allowed to reopen at the end of this month. It’s ahead of a meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team this morning. They’ll discuss the accelerated roadmap for reopening the country, which was reduced to just four phases recently. Hairdressers and barbers are

  There are calls for urgent clarity over the future of the medical rehabilitation unit in St. Conal’s Campus in Letterkenny. A number of families locally are said to be concerned over proposals to relocate to Letterkenny University Hospital and how this will impact on the care of their loved ones who are scheduled for

  A major social housing development in Strabane has been given the green light. A £20 million investment will see 158 new social houses and a play area constructed on the old Adria site in the town. It’s estimated that 160 construction jobs will also be created over the course of the project. West Tyrone

  Work has started on the Greenway link between Muff in Donegal and Culmore in Derry. There are three main Derry routes which will transcend the border between the Buncrana Road and Bridgend, between the Letterkenny Road and Killea, and between the Culmore Road and Muff, beginning at the Pennyburn Roundabout right through Muff and

  The Green Party will discuss whether or not to go into government at a special conference this afternoon. More than 2,600 party members registered to vote on whether or not to approve the programme for government. Members will have the chance to debate the issue over 9 hours today before voting next week. Green

  It would be a miracle if the EU managed to broker a full trade agreement with the UK within the next few months. That’s according to a Midlands North West MEP. The European Parliament will vote today on a resolution that calls on the UK to abide by the Brexit Withdrawal agreement. The President

Cllr Rena Donaghey has been officially installed as the new Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council. Cllr Donaghey replaces fellow Inishowen Cllr Nicholas Crossan in the role and is the first female Fianna Fáil member to do so. The Buncrana based Cllr was proposed by Cllr Ciaran Brogan and seconded by Cllr Paul Canning. Speaking at