Author name: oisinkelly

  Concern has been raised over the fate of seasonal workers during the current pandemic. The workers, many of which are in Donegal, face an uncertain future as they weren’t working at the time Covid-19 payment or wage subsidy scheme was announced. Speaking in the Dail last evening, Donegal TD Thomas Pringle requested urgent clarity […]

  Detectives in the North are again asking people in Derry to tell them what they know about the murder of Lyra McKee. This weekend marks the first anniversary of the murder of the freelance journalist, who was shot by a masked gunman during a riot in the Creggan area of the city. The PSNI’s

  A Donegal TD has raised concern over what’s been described as significant delays in the Be on Call for Ireland initiative. The number of applicants is approximately 72,000 and includes nursing, medical and ambulance personnel. However it’s understood that a large number of those have yet to be processed. Speaking in the Dail last

  A Donegal Deputy has hit out over what he has described as bad time management in the Dail chamber. The Dáil sat to late last evening as the government’s response to the Coronavirus crisis was debated by TDs. Deputy Thomas Pringle was due to pose questions to the Health Minister but was told to

  The Taoiseach says he doesn’t know if Coronavirus restrictions will be lifted on May 5th. Leo Varadkar has warned normal life will not fully return until there is a vaccine for COVID-19. The Dáil is debating the government’s response to the virus this afternoon. At the start of business Leo Varadkar warned measures may

    One of the first community assessment hubs in the country, which will provide enhanced support for people who have tested positive for Covid-19 has opened in Letterkenny. The facility is providing timely assessment for people who feel symptomatic, who feel their symptoms are becoming worse or if their GP feels they need clinical

  The Donegal IFA is warning that the beef industry locally is facing a total wipe out unless the Government intervenes. It comes as the Irish Farmers Journal analysis show that beef prices are down 40 cent per kilo over the last five years. Donegal IFA Livestock Chairman Frank McClain says farmers in the county

  There are fears that local people who may be suffering from domestic violence can’t access the supports they need during the current pandemic. It’s after a local charity has reported a major decline in numbers contacting them since the Covid-19 crisis began. Mary Doherty, manager of Lifeline Inishowen believes one of the reasons may

  There’s growing concern over local nursing homes and community hospitals as the number of cases clusters increases. Questions are being asked of the Government as to why care assistants and nurses in residential settings were not required to wear PPE equipment up until last week unless someone was suspected or confirmed of having Covid-19.

  Older people are being warned they’ll have to keep “cocooning” until the country has control of Covid-19. People over 70 have been urged to stay at home at all times since March 27th, to try prevent them contracting the infection. While the Department of Health insists cocooning is advisory and not mandatory, Chief Medical

  A new Covid-19 test centre is to open in Derry today, with an emphasis on testing front line health workers. The centre is opening as the executive promises to step up the level of testing outside the hospital setting, amod concerns that the actual number of Coronavirus cases north of the border is being

  A Donegal Deputy says he believes the nature of opposition will be very different in the new Dail, as Fine Gael and Fianna Fail come close to agreeing a programme for government. Deputy Thomas Pringle says it will be an opportunity for real political discourse, rather than arguments based on personality. Deputy Pringle says

The North’s First and Deputy First Ministers have moved to address concerns over the way Covid-19 testing is carried out in Northern Ireland. At present, deaths in care homes are not counted in the daily Covid-19 statistics, but Deputy First MInister Michelle O’Neill says testing will be ramped up, and weekly statistics will now be

A Donegal Councillor says the government must look at giving breaks to small businesses, in a bid to ensure that as many as possible can be saved. Cllr Michael Mc Clafferty says the starting point should be the deferral of the new Carbon Tax regime, which is due to come into effect next month. Cllr

The Chair of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal has hit out at those responsible for Sunday night’s arson attacks on two masts on Letterkenny’s Circular Road. Cllr Gerry McMonagle says it’s a very serious situation, particularly as the resources of the Gardai and Fire Service were tied up for a time at a time

Concern is being expressed in Northern Ireland that because of the way testing is carried out, deaths in care homes are not counted in the daily Covid-19 statistics. Derry City and Strabane District Councillor Eamon Mc Cann says the failure is systematic, and not the fault of care home workers, who are themselves at risk.

Almost 3 thousand coronavirus tests are now being carried out every day. That’s according to a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team, who says he’s confident testing capacity won’t be a barrier to lifting some restrictions next month. There are now almost 11,500 coronavirus cases here, while 406 people have died. Chairman of

Conspiracy theories linking 5G masts with covid-19 are being described as fake news. It follows suspected arson attacks on boxes attached to two masts on Letterkenny’s Circular Road on Sunday night, one of them serving Letterkenny University Hospital. Tech expert Jess Kelly says scientifically, it’s impossible for masts to spread viruses…….

The HSE is to start testing nursing home residents living where NO Covid-19 clusters have been found. Yesterday saw the country’s highest number of deaths in a single day recorded, with a further 41 people losing their lives after being infected with the virus. 406 people have now died, while there are 11,479 confirmed Covid-19

Companies and organisations aiming to help healthcare responses to the Covid-19 crisis can now collaborate via a new online platform. InterTradeIreland and TechIreland have set up the portal, which allows people see very quickly who is involved in similar projects such as themselves both inside and outside their area. This in turn means they can

  41 more people have died in the Republic from Covid-19, with the death toll now at 406. 548 new cases have been detected in the past 24 hours, while there were 284 positive tests sent back from German labs. The total number of confirmed cases here now stands at 11,479. There have been further

A Donegal TD says the Minister for Agriculture still hasn’t moved on bringing GLAS balancing payments immediately, and it is unacceptable that there has not yet been any support to help farmers deal with income pressures resulting from the COVD-19 restrictions. Deputy Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fail’s Agriculture Spokesperson, says Minister Michael Creed mut act to

It’s emerged that coal was used to start two fires at masts in Letterkenny on Easter Sunday night. Gardai say the fires, on either ends of Circular Road, were started deliberately and their investigations are continuing. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Sergeant Eunan Walsh asked anyone who saw anything suspicious in the areas of

An Inishowen GP has questioned figures which suggest that the rate of Covid-19 infection in Donegal is three times that in neighbouring council areas across the border. A cross border Covid-19 dashboard maintained by Donegal County Council shows that there are over 141 confirmed cases per 100,000 people in Donegal, compared to a rate of