Author name: oisinkelly

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

A senior consultant at Letterkenny University Hospital has said there is no shortage of PPE at Letterkenny University Hospital, and staff are being given the resources they need to operate as safely as possible. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Peter O’Rourke said in some cases, people are looking for what they see on TV,

A Garda car was rammed near the Tyrone border yesterday, following an operation which began on the beach in Downings. At 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, gardai sought to stop the red Audi car in Downings. A short time later, it was seen outside Letterkenny, and followed through Raphoe towards Castlefinn and Doneyloop. Sergeant Eunan Walsh

The Health Minister says Ireland’s restrictions will only ease next month if significant progress is made over the next three weeks. The lockdown remains in place until May 5th, but Simon Harris says normal life won’t resume next month………… Echoing that, Chief medical officer Tony Holohan says until a vaccine is mass-produced, there will still

The ASTI is telling teachers they’re not compelled to take part in the new Leaving Cert arrangements. A statement on the union’s website says “no teacher will be required to do anything.” and says the proposal on the state exams “cannot be enforced.” The Leaving Cert been pushed back from June to either late July

Fire service personnel and gardai attended the site of a fire in control boxes attached to two broadband masts in the Meadowbank area of Letterkenny last night. The boxes are positioned adjacent to the masts. It is incorrectly understood that they are 5G masts. Detective Inspector Pat O’Donnell confirmed they are broadband masts which provided

A man has appeared before a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court charged in connection with a break in towards the back of the parochial house in Letterkenny in the early hours of Easter Sunday. At around 1:45 am yesterday morning, Gardaí responded to reports of a suspected burglary at the property at Sentry Hill.

The Health Minister says the backlog of tests shipped to a German lab for analysis should be completed by the end of next week. Simon Harris says between 25,000 and 30,000 had been sent and 14,000 have now returned. Last night it was confirmed just over 1,000 of those are Covid-19 positive. Minister Harris says

The restrictions on movement which were meant to expire tomorrow, have been extended for 3 more weeks, until Tuesday May 5th. Garda checkpoints continued in Letterkenny throughout the night and are ongoing today. Gardai are asking people to stay at home if your journey is not essential. The Taoiseach’s urging people not to tell authorities

We’re being asked to do what we can to reduce social isolation and improve the wellbeing of disabled people in the long term. The onside project which covers Donegal and Derry is an ongoing programme that aims to support disabled people create community connections of their own choosing. Speaking about the true meaning of ‘social

Over thirty new homes have been approved by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Planning Committee, as planners continue to progress with the processing of applications. Applications are still currently being accepted despite some limitations on service due to the ongoing Coronavirus emergency. Catherine Gaffney has more:

  The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Donegal has jumped to 145. It’s a rise of 20 on the previous  figure of 125. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has accused the HSE of withholding information on the backlog of tests for the coronavirus. The party’s Finance Spokerson Pearse Doherty says the lack of information is

  25 further people have died after contracting Covid-19 in the Republic. The death toll across the country from the disease is now 288. 480 cases have been detected – with the total number of positive tests now standing at 7,054. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan has more details on the people who have

    Restrictions to control the spread of the coronavirus have been extended for another three weeks. They were due to end on Sunday night, but will now expire after the May Bank Holiday weekend on May 5th. Announcing the decision the Taoiseach said the sacrifices to date were making a difference and the spread

  The Leaving Cert exams are being postponed until the last week of July or early August. The Junior cert exams have been cancelled, with students set to take school based tests early in the new school year. All schools will remain closed until further notice. Education Minister Joe McHugh says they will issue a