Author name: oisinkelly

Ireland risks missing key EU targets because the country is generating “significantly” more rubbish and recycling less and less of it, according to a new Environmental Protection Agency report. It says 3.1 million tonnes of municipal waste was created in 2019 – a 6% rise, making Ireland’s rubbish pile the biggest it has been since […]

Household visits and indoor hospitality will be targeted as part of new restrictions to tackle the spread of Covid-19. It’s understood NPHET has recommended limiting household mixing – allowing one household gather with three others – until mid-February. Opening hour limits and rules around table sittings and multiple bookings at pubs and restaurants are also

A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Government to pay Oireachtas secretaries better. The starting salary for a secretary is currently €24,000 a year and only rises slightly in stages over a long period of time. The issue was heavily debated in the Dail yesterday with a number of TDs adding their voice to the

  Listen back to main evening news, sport, farming news & obituaries for Thursday November 2nd here:

  Stormont’s Health Minister says he wants to avoid bringing back tougher covid restrictions. This week has seen the introduction of vaccine passports, and a tightening of rules for international travel. The Northern Ireland Executive’s expected to discuss the new Omicron variant when it meets today. Here’s Health Minister Robin Swann:

  The Tanaiste has confirmed that the Housing Minister is ‘considering’ the controversial sliding scale issue in the enhanced Mica Redress scheme. There has been much outrage to the sliding scale element of the scheme which could result in homeowners still having to pay out tens of thousands of euro to fix their homes. The

DUP MP Gregory Campbell has written to Taoiseach Micheal Martin over concerns around the exclusion of Northern Irish holiday home owners from the Mica redress scheme. The revised scheme announced this week does not offer redress for holiday homes while rental properties will only be covered if they were registered with the RTB by November

It’s emerged that just a fraction of additional beds allocated to Letterkenny University Hospital for 2020/ 2021 have opened. Of the 39 beds allocated only 16 are open for use. It comes as figures released by the INMO this week show that over 1,000 admitted patients were on a trolley at the hospital last month

Concern has been raised over delays to dredging at Magheroarty Pier. A foreshore licence application was submitted by Donegal County Council in January to commence dredging but to date, the go ahead has not been given. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage say the application is currently pending. Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig

The General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation has accused public health of walking away from primary schools at the end of September. John Boyle says as a result, Covid-19 has spiraled out of control in schools. Latest figures show 6,077 primary school students tested positive for the virus last week alone. Speaking on

The Agriculture Minister says he’s “hopeful” the Republic of Ireland can avoid another lockdown. It comes as NPHET meet today to consider recommending new restrictions, after the first case of the Omicron variant in the Republic of Ireland was identified yesterday. Minister Charlie McConlogue is confident the country can continue under the restrictions currently in

A Donegal Deputy is backing calls for adequate ventilation in the workplace. The Workplace Ventilation Bill was debated in the Dail yesterday and if passed would pave the way for work to be carried out to provide sufficient air quality in businesses and schools as part of the battle against Covid-19. It has been described

A south Donegal Deputy is calling on the Taoiseach to take immediate action on hospital overcrowding in the North West. Deputy Marian Harkin says the region is coming out on top time and time again when it comes to overcrowding. Yesterday there were almost 80 people awaiting admission at both Letterkenny and Sligo University Hospitals,

The Mica Action Group have described their trip to Brussels as successful. Representatives of the group travelled to Brussels on Tuesday as part of their campaign for 100% redress. Yesterday, petitions presented to the EU Petitions Committee received unanimous support from MEPs. A written response from the EU Commission has now been requested. A report

The Government is under fire yet again over abandoning plans to subsidise antigen tests. The decision was based on retailers reducing prices, resulting in the removal of the need for the government to intervene. The issue was raised in the Dail by Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty; he claimed that the price for some antigen tests

NPHET’s meeting this morning to consider recommending more restrictions, due to high Covid case numbers and the worrying new variant. The first Omicron case was confirmed in the Republic of Ireland yesterday, while the five-day moving average of coronavirus infections is nearly 4,500. But Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told his parliamentary party last night he’s not

It’s estimated 2,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed last year, due to the pandemic. A report from the National Cancer Registry shows as many as 1 in 8 cancers that were predicted to be diagnosed in 2020, were not. The Irish Cancer Society’s urging anyone with symptoms, they suspect may be cancer-related, to speak to their

Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh is backing calls for the scrapping of the sliding scale saying it doesn’t make sense. On today’s Nine til Noon he says there appear to have been a number of 11th hour changes made in the days leading to yesterday’s announcement. Deputy McHugh has said he will consider his position

  The Taoiseach has accused Sinn Féin of making up figures when it comes to mica redress and feigned outrage over the scheme. Pearse Doherty has said the new Government proposals don’t amount to 100 per cent redress for the families affected. Micheál Martin says the drop in the per square foot payment rate after

  The first case of the Omicron covid variant has been identified in Ireland. Health officials say eight samples were sent for testing, and ONE case of the strain has been confirmed. The case is linked to travel to a country in southern Africa and was identified from a sample taken within the last week.

Mica is once again the hot topic of heated exchanges in the Dail this afternoon. The fallout of the inclusion of the ‘sliding scale’ element of the revised Mica Redress Scheme was brought before the Taoiseach by Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty. Micheal Martin further repeated Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien’s stance that the square foot cap