Author name: oisinkelly

The Chief Medical Officer says there are encouraging signs the country WILL be in a position to start easing the lockdown next week. Phase one of the government’s plan is due to begin on Monday, which includes the resumption of outdoor work and the reopening of some retail stores. However a final decision will be

Green shoots are beginning to re-emerge for farmers out of the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Irish Farmers Association. Yesterday one of the beef sectors major buyers, McDonalds, announced it would reopen some outlets for drive through from next week. The IFA says up to 60,000 farmers will benefit. It comes as the EU’s agriculture

A Glenties area councillor says arrangements must be made to facilitate proper meetings at Municipal District Level. A number of MDs, including Inishowen and Glenties held online meetings this week, but Cllr Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig says because decisions cannot be made and motions cannot be passed at such meetings it’s important that full

The European Commission will publish a range of measures later today aimed at revitalising the tourism sector. The so-called ‘road map’ will address health and safety protocols for tourism locations and accommodation centres. It’s also expected to announce details on relaxing EU internal borders. However, there are fears the EU plan may contradict current restrictions

Members of Inishowen Municipal District met online this afternoon to discuss a number of issues and brief officials on what they want to see prioritised in the coming weeks. Because the meeting was digital, it could make no formal decisions, and members could not propose or second formal motions. However, Cathaoirleach Cllr Martin McDermott says

Gardaí in Letterkenny are information about two fires in the town, one in the Bernard McGlinchey Town Park on Saturday night, and the other behind a pub in Oldtown in the early hours of last Thursday morning. CCTV footage is being examined in relation to both incidents. Speaking to Greg Hughes on today’s Nine til

Northern Ireland’s government has published a five-step plan for gradually emerging from its lockdown. The first stage will allow up to six people to meet outside, with the Executive saying it will consider three key criteria: the most up-to-date scientific evidence; the ability of the health service to cope; and the wider impacts on our

The Health Minister wants to see new laws introduced to regulate people travelling into our ports and airports. It follows reports gardai may call to passengers’ homes to make sure they’re in self-isolation for two weeks. It’s after a third of people arriving at Dublin Airport recently, didn’t fill in forms properly about where they

A member of the County Donegal Education and Training Board says the Three School Campus in Buncrana is still very much on the table. At a virtual ETB meeting last evening, a letter was presented from the Department of Education, indicating that a new site has been identified, and officials are working on assessing its

On International Day of the Nurse, the INMO says health services face extra staffing pressure unless there’s an increase in student nurse places. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is warning the pandemic is likely to lead to a downturn in the number of oversees nurses travelling to work here. INMO general secretary Phil Ní

Northern Ireland’s five-stage plans to gradually emerge from lockdown will be published today. First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill will outline the ‘roadmap’ to the Stormont assembly. According to The Irish News, small outdoor gatherings will be allowed in the first phase, but cafes, restaurants and pubs will have to wait

The National Public Health Emergency Team meets this morning to discuss if now is the time to recommend wearing masks in public. It’s expected they’ll issue formal guidance shortly on when people should start wearing facial coverings, and how they should find, make and use them. The death toll from the virus stands at 1,467,

There’s been another gorse fire in West Donegal, close to the scene of last week’s blaze which came close to damaging homes. That blaze was accidental, but local Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig believes on this occasion, the fire was started deliberately. Gardai are at the scene, and are investigating what happened. Cllr Mac

Former Minister Éamon Ó Cuív claims many Fianna Fáil members would have ‘huge issues’ with forming a government with Fine Gael and the Greens. The three parties are holding talks today to see whether they can put together a coalition. The discussions are likely to continue for the rest of the month, with carbon emissions

83 per-cent of people want to continue to work remotely after the Covid-19 Crisis. A new survey by researchers at NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission of over 7-thousand-people online across a range of industries shows shows over half of those surveyed had never worked remotely before the pandemic. It found the top three

The Chair of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal is backing calls for more CCTV in the vicinity of the park at Ballyboe between Meadowbank and Dr McGinley Road. There have been a number of incidents in recent weeks, including the Easter Sunday arson attack on a communications mast, and the setting fire to a

Irish people travelling by plane to the UK won’t have to go into a 14-day quarantine when they arrive. The British Prime Minister has given people from the Republic and France an exemption to the self-isolating rules. But according to the Irish Independent, the Irish government won’t make a return gesture for people arriving by

Mart Managers Ireland are seeking a meeting with Minister Michael Creed to discuss what they say is an urgent need for financial support. They say Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on mart operations over what a normally the busiest two months of the mart calendar. Procedures for limited opening were agreed in the past

Twelve more Covid-19 patients have died, while 236 more people have tested positive. The total number of confirmed cases in Donegal remains at 469, with no new cases confirmed over the weekend. There are 10 Covid-19 patient at Letterkenny University Hospital, none of them in ICU. That’s down from a high of 38. The HSE

Siptu says between 15-hundred and two thousand health workers who signed up to be “On Call for Ireland” were handed agency contracts with inferior terms and conditions. The trade union says it’s been contacted by a number of workers hired under the scheme. It says the contracts don’t include death-in-service benefits which could amount to

Boris Johnson’s proposed partially reopening primary schools in the UK as early as the first of June. It would mean schools in Northern Ireland could be back open three months sooner than those south of the border. The British prime minister also said anyone who can’t work from home, like those in construction and manufacturing,

Gardai are investigating after a fire broke out last night at the Bernard McGlinchey Town Park in Letterkenny. The fire has raised some anger among locals as it destroyed a slide in the park. It is believed the fire started after 9pm, when black smoke could be seen last night. The fire service responded to

The HSE says it’s still on target to deliver 100,000 tests per week from May 18th. It says the average wait time for a result is now 2.4 days and that plans are being put in place to ramp up testing and contact tracing. All staff and residents in the country’s 577 nursing homes have

As Boris Johnson gets set to announce measures to end Britain’s lockdown, a roadmap for recovery in Northern Ireland isn’t expected until next week. Both the first and deputy first minister’s recently said the current restrictions will also remain in place for a further three weeks. First Minister Arlene Foster says the decisions are based

The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland says it has huge concerns about a Leaving Cert with predictive grades but it is supporting the plan. The union’s recommending its members engage with calculated grades for students but it still has concerns about possible legal issues. The Teachers Union of Ireland have also stated their initial