Author name: oisinkelly

A West Tyrone MLA has called for an all-island approach to the reopening of the economy to be adopted. Daniel McCrossan believes the reopening of businesses in the North should be done in tandem with the easing of restrictions in the Republic. He told the North’s Economy Minister that a situation where the hospitality sector

A Donegal County Councillor has reiterated calls for Council meetings to be streamed live online. Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says in the interest of transparency streaming meetings online is a must, particularly with the number of people allowed in the Chamber limited as a result of Covid-19 While there has been some opposition to

  There are calls on the Education Minister to engage with the governing board of the LYIT to clarify the future of the Killybegs campus and to ensure that its future is safeguarded. This call comes amidst the backdrop of plans for the LYIT to move from a four school, to a three school, institution;

  All shops in Northern Ireland have been given the go-ahead to re-open today. It’s after a fall in the number of new Covid 19 cases, and no new deaths being recorded on four days this week. Stores in shopping centres are also allowed to re-open as part of the easing of lockdown measures. The

  The Chairman of Donegal Airport says the last few months have been a challenging time but the facility is emerging out the other side. All domestic flights at Donegal Airport are now reinstated with all adequate health and safety measures in place. An ambitious five year plan is also due to be announced by

  The Cathaoirleach of the Inishowen Municipal has hit out over what’s been described as serious shortcomings in the water supply on the peninsula. Areas in north Inishowen have experienced numerous bursts over the last few months while some areas in the south of the peninsula are notorious for frequent outages. Cllr Martin McDermott has

  The UK’s reportedly abandoning plans to introduce full border checks with the European Union after the transition period ends in January. Struggling businesses are demanding more time to adjust, especially as there’s been no agreement on trade post-Brexit. Sky’s political correspondent Tom Rayner says the UK government’s considering less strict border checks:

  Police in the North investigating the killing of Lyra McKee say they’ve found the murder weapon. The 29-year-old freelance journalist was shot and killed as she watched rioting in the Creggan area of Derry in April last year. The pistol was found in a dissident Republican arms cache last weekend in the nearby Graiguenamanagh

  A Donegal Deputy has appealed to the Health Minister to ensure investment would be made in the health service as the country emerges from the current pandemic. Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn told the Dail that even before the Covid-19 outbreak, the people of Donegal suffered significant shortcomings in terms of health provision with 1 in

Eight more people with Covid-19 have passed away in the Republic. The death toll from the disease since the beginning of the outbreak stands at 1,703. Eight new cases have also been detected, bringing the total to 25,248. There are no new confirmed cases in Donegal. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan has details on

Police in Derry have confirmed the handgun found in a dissident Republican weapons cache last weekend was used to murder Lyra McKee. The freelance journalist was shot dead while reporting on a riot in the Creggan area of the city in April last year. The New IRA later admitted responsibility for the shooting, saying its

    Donegal County Council has unveiled plans today to support the re-opening of businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector through facilitating additional outdoor dining and seating areas. Owners of restaurants, cafés and eateries can apply for a licence from the Council for additional outdoor seating areas that will provide them with extra capacity

  A Donegal Historian says a forum needs to be set up to discuss how best to deal with concerns over monuments. There’s been an outpouring of calls to have various statues removed right across the country which, it’s argued, glorify slavery. While some in the UK have been vandalised or, in some cases, torn

    The clinical director of BreastCheck says it’ll be months before the screening service is back to normal. Professor Ann O’Doherty says there are “huge challenges” in resuming services and that it’s still not possible to give a timeline of when they’ll be back up and running. Cancer screening has been on hold since

A business owner in Letterkenny has defended keeping his tanning salon open after a last minute change to Government guidelines. Tanning salons initially reopened on Monday as part of Phase Two but were advised later that day by the Department of Health to shut their doors again until June 29th. Owner of Bronze Age Tanning

  Marts in Donegal have reopened their doors this week after a period of disruption during the busiest two months of trading in the year. The Taoiseach’s announcement that no livestock sales were to take place from 13th March was said to have been a massive blow to marts and farmers having had to deal

  More talks will take place today between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens in a bid to form a Government. A number of issues remain including the 7 per cent reduction in carbon emissions. Former Green Party advisor John Downing says the decrease is still one of the main sticking points.

  The days of leisurely browsing at shopping centres are gone, according to the National Standards Authority of Ireland. Shopping centres are due to open next week which is earlier than planned. The NSAI says there should be no public seating, no WIFI and limited parking spaces. Spokesperson Paul Turner says customers need to be

  Fianna Fail’s Agriculture spokesperson has told the Dail that the Government’s approach to increase sustainability from an environmental and biodiversity point of view must also be sustainable for farmers in terms of income and employment. Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue was speaking during the Annual Transition Statements on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development. He

  Upgrade works to the A5 face yet further delays. It was anticipated that the major project would commence late 2020/ early 2021 however, a late submission of the public inquiry report is the latest stumbling block. It is not yet known when the construction of the Western Transport Corridor will get underway. Foyle MLA

    A Donegal childcare provider has described todays funding announcement as a huge relief for the sector locally. The funding package of €75m for the childcare sector has been agreed by Cabinet today and is designed to help providers to operate with less parental income. Creches are scheduled to open on June 29th with

    The Justice Minister says a number of grey areas means gardai can no longer arrest people if they’d don’t adhere to travel restrictions. Under Phase 2, people can only travel 20km or anywhere within their own county. But it’s emerged, this is only a guideline and gardai can’t prosecute anyone for breaching it.