Author name: oisinkelly

  The Education Minister is being urged to clarify the status of the July Education Programme, also known as the ‘July Provision’. The July Provision provides funding for an extended school year for children with a severe or profound general learning disability or children with autism. But with the curtailing of the school year Donegal

  The ISPCA admitted six donkeys and two ponies into its care recently, the second large rescue in Donegal in a matter of weeks. The animals were discovered living in sheds with conditions inside said to be so bad that the animals had nowhere clean to lay down and had no feed available to them.

  The Assistant General Secretary with Forsa says health workers locally feel let down by the Government over efforts to provide childcare for them. The scheme, which was due to be rolled out from Monday, was due to help nurses and doctors go to work and have their children minded. But it’s been cancelled because

  The HSE is hoping turnaround times for a Covid test will be three days from Monday. The Health Executive says it’s been working to update its technology to automate results. Latest figures show there are 23,400 confirmed cases here and 1,497 people have lost their lives. CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid, says it

  People in Donegal who have applied for planning permission are being told to expect delays in decisions. It’s because the timeframe for statutory planning has been extended until May 23rd with a possibility that it could be extended further. There’s also a reminder that Donegal County Council is currently only receiving applications by post.

  Fianna Fail is calling for independent statisticians to ensure that the new leaving cert process is fair. It comes after a row in the Dail yesterday between Labour’s Aodhan Ó Ríordáin and the Minister for Education Joe McHugh. Deputy O Ríordáin argued that the algorithms used by the Department of Education to standardise results

  Investigations are continuing into the circumstances surrounding the death of a female child following a farm accident in Inishowen. The incident happened in the Malin area at approximately 5.20pm yesterday afternoon. The child was pronounced dead at the scene and her body removed to Altnagelvin Hospital. Two separate investigations by An Garda Siochana and

  The childcare plan for healthcare workers has been scrapped due to a lack of providers. The scheme, which was due to be rolled out from Monday, would see childminders go into the homes of healthcare staff at a cost of 90 euro a week per family. However, Minister Katherine Zappone announced last night it

  A contractor has been appointed to carry out a multimillion euro infrastructure project in west Donegal. Work on the N56 Dungloe to Cloghbolie Road project is expected to get underway shortly. The new 7.1km long road and cycleway project is estimated to cost €22 million and is the fourth phase of the overall 26

  A Donegal TD has issued a stark warning to the Government that without the recovery of SMEs there will be no economic recovery. Deputy Pearse Doherty has written to both the Finance and Business Minister requesting additional liquidity supports for small and medium sized businesses. Measures proposed include an extension of the commercial rates

  There’s been a stand-up row in the Dáil over the new system for the Leaving Cert. Labour’s Aodhan O’Riordain says the algorithms used by the Department to standardise results will impact unfairly on disadvantaged schools as the results will be partly compared to previous years. Minister Joe McHugh claims the system will be fair

  IT problems are being blamed for a delay in turnaround time for Covid 19 testing. Over 44 thousand tests have been carried out in the past week with a positivity rate of 3.3 per cent. The Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory is hoping it will soon take 3 days from people reporting

  The Education Minister has been accused of mishandling the Junior and Leaving Cert during the Coronavirus crisis. The Dáil is hearing statements on education this afternoon as questions about the state exams persist. Labour TD Aodhan O’Riordain says Minister Joe McHugh has provided a complete lack of transparency on the decisions made: Education Minister

  A consultant at Letterkenny University Hospital says it’s going to be very difficult to rebuild the health service after Covid-19, and the challenges ahead will put the flood of 2013 into perspective. In a wide ranging interview on today’s Nine til Noon Show, Peter O’Rourke said as non-Covid related surgeries begin to return, there

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