Author name: oisinkelly

  In the UK, the Chancellor will later announce a package of measures to support workers, after firms began to cut pay, put staff on unpaid leave or reduced positions. Iconic sportswear firm O’Neill’s yesterday suspended operations in Strabane, until May, with the temporary lay-off of 750 staff. It follows major job cuts in hospitality

  319 new members of the gardaí will be sworn into the force in Tipperary later. Many of the recruits will be required to go back to Templemore after the Covid-19 emergency is over to complete their training. However, this cohort will have full powers of other members of the force and will be deployed

  There are further calls on Donegal County Council to explore funding avenues to carry out upgrade works on the Oldtown Pitch in Letterkenny. The pitch which is widely used by young people in the area has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years. Local Cllr Gerry McMonagle says it wouldn’t take a

  A Donegal County Councillor is calling on the Government to scrap property tax in a bid to ease pressures during the current crisis. Cllr Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig says so many families and individuals are facing so much uncertainty and the government could reduce some of the financial burden by scrap the property

  The Education Minister says schools will likely remain closed beyond the 29th of March. Today it was announced that this year’s Leaving Cert orals have been cancelled, with students to be awarded full marks for this portion of the exam. The decision was taken in light of the closure of schools as a result

  The government has signed off on a ban on evictions and rent increases while the country deals with the Coronavirus. The Dáil will approve the legislation in another special sitting next week. This evening a reduced number of TDs are debating laws to give the government the power to detail people with the virus.

  Around 750 people are being temporarily laid off at O’Neills Sportswear – the largest employer in Strabane. The news was announced within the last hour with the facility due to close its doors at 6pm this evening until May 5th. Many employees are affected both sides of the border. West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan

  A former mayor of Letterkenny is calling on landlords to stop charging rents for businesses due to on-going coronavirus concerns. It comes as many shops and businesses in the town have been forced to shut their doors as a temporary measure not knowing when they will reopen again. Due to the uncertainty, Cllr Gerry

  A Donegal Hotelier is warning that 25% of hospitality businesses will not be able to get back trading without a rescue package from government. It comes as its envisaged that a further 200,000 people will lose their jobs in Ireland in the coming days because of coronavirus. Brian McDermott says no one has the

  The volume of land recorded on the market in Donegal for 2019 was much higher than in previous years. Some 2,283 acres were offered for sale and almost 40% of those sold. Prices fell by 20% though, the biggest percentage drop in any county. Author of the report Odile (PRON: O-DEEL) Evans says there

  Donegal has less than five confirmed cases of coronavirus, the HSE has confirmed. Dublin, Cork and Limerick have the highest number of cases in Ireland. Another 74 people tested positive yesterday, bringing the total in the Republic to 366. The Department of Health has also published a breakdown of the country’s first 271 cases.

  The North’s first minister says the closure of schools will have a long-term impact on children’s education. All schools in Northern Ireland will shut from Monday because of the coronavirus crisis. Arlene Foster made the announcement after it was announced that schools in England, Scotland and Wales will close tomorrow. The first minister says

  There are major safety concerns over trees aligning the Golf Course road in Letterkenny. Heavy ivy growing on the trees is said to be leaving some of them in a dangerous condition while others are blocking public lighting along the road. Donegal County Council has agreed to investigate the issue. But Cllr Donal Coyle

The IFA says farmers in difficulty or anyone living in isolation in rural areas should call on the association and its members for help. The Chair of the Donegal IFA is urging farmers in need to reach out with a WhatsApp Group set up for farmers in the county. Brendan McLaughlin also says supply is

There are calls for an urgent increase in testing for COVID-19 in the North. At the moment, only those admitted to hospital are being tested for Coronavirus. There are 62 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland. The World Health Organisation has stated that testing is the only way to combat the virus. Derry Councillor

The HSE is continuing to ask healthcare professionals from all disciplines who are not already working in the public health service to register to be on call for Ireland as the country deals with the Coronavirus outbreak. The body is aiming to create extra hospital and care beds and in turn are calling for extra

Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle says people need to realise that the reality is now that Coronavirus has arrived in Ireland. Deputy Pringle was placed in self isolation on Monday for a period of two weeks after coming into contact with a person with COVID-19 last week. He told today’s Nine til Noon Show that its

Mart Managers of Ireland have introduced new measures for all their marts which are to take immediate effect from today throughout the country. Marts have been using some of the measures over the past number of sales and collectively have put forward guidelines which all will be adhering to over the coming weeks. This will

Patients who don’t have a doctor they normally go to can now call any local GP to get checked for covid-19. There are concerns about thousands of people not registered with a local doctor during the pandemic. Dr Mary Favier, of the Irish College of General Practitioners, says her clinic has been too full to

Older people and those with a long term illness will be advised at some point to stay at home for several weeks during the coronavirus crisis. Last night Leo Varadkar gave a televised address calling on people to maintain social distancing and praising the work of the health service. The Taoiseach warned that as many

69 new cases of covid-19 have been confirmed in the republic this evening. 29 are male and forty of them are female, with 5 of them associated with the North West of the country. It’s a new record increase for the fourth day in a row, bringing the total south of the border to 292.