Author name: oisinkelly

The Dáil will debate laws to bring back mandatory hotel quarantine this morning. The measure was ended in September, but the government wants to bring the legislation back due to the Omicron variant of Covid. The rules will be similar to last time – with people travelling into the Republic of Ireland through airports required

  There have been 55 deaths related to Covid-19 in the past week. Meanwhile, the Department of Health has this evening reported 3,793 new cases of Covid-19. 578 people are currently in hospital with the virus, of whom 117 are being treated in intensive care. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, is appealing to

      Listen back to the main evening news, sport and obituaries for Wednesday December 1st here:

  City of Derry Airport welcomed Ryanair back to the North West today for the inaugural service to Manchester Airport. In a statement Mr Steve Frazer, Managing Director at City of Derry Airport said that they are thrilled to have Ryanair back in the North West and providing such an important service for the local

    Members of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership held a virtual meeting this week to discuss the cross border approach being taken by Councils to the overall Green Transformation of the North West City Region. Reports outlining the achievements to date under the North West Development Fund, and the key shared priorities for

  It is the season of sending early, according to An Post. The service is advising customers to get their Christmas cards and gifts in the post box by December 9th for overseas destinations outside Europe. The cut off date for EU locations is December 13th for parcels and the 18th for cards. An Post

New car registrations in Donegal have increased almost 15%. According to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, the number of new cars registered in the county last month was 2,399, up from 2,094 during the same period the previous year. Nationally, November new car registrations are up 24%. Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General says;

The unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in November, including those on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. According to figures from the CSO, that’s down from 7.9% in October. In November last year the figure was over 20%.

People were unable to book a Covid-19 PCR test for a time earlier due to a technical problem with the HSE’s website. The health service says the issue affected its book a test portal. However it says the glitch has since been resolved and the system’s now operating normally. It’s advising anyone who received confirmation

Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colm Eastwood is backing holiday home owners living in Northern Ireland whose holiday homes have been affected by Mica. Colm eastwood says there is justifiable anger that people living in the north have been excluded, and the Irish government has missed an opportunity to give all those impacted the full

Letterkenny University Hospital remains one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the country today. It’s the second most overcrowded with 54 people waiting on a bed there. 17 patients are on a trolley in the hospital’s Emergency Department while are further 37 are waiting on wards. Nationally, 323 people are waiting on a hospital bed.

Gardai have confirmed that over the past week, 12 drivers have been arrested in Donegal for driving under the influence. 8 motorists were arrested for drink driving and 4 for drug driving. It comes as Gardai as part of their Christmas and New Year road safety campaign continue to appeal to people to act responsibly

1.4 million people are set to receive the Christmas bonus next week. More than €313 million will be paid into bank accounts by the Department of Social Protection from December 6th. Pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term social welfare recipients are among those who’ll benefit. People on the PUP or Jobseekers will

A search was carried out yesterday in Derry by the PSNI’s local Tactical Support Group on behalf of Foyleside & Moors Neighbourhood Policing Team following an investigation into the cultivation of cannabis. A quantity of suspect herbal cannabis, 27 young cannabis plants and growing equipment was seized. Police say one person is assisting with enquires.

Overnight rain and wind has caused some disruption to roads across Donegal this morning. Motorists are advised to be cautious when travelling in the event of fallen branches or debris. A tree is down on the Rathmullan to Ramelton road. It will be cold and windy this morning with scattered showers. Strong and gusty northwesterly

The Letterkenny Vaccination Centre on the Kilmacrennan Road will be holding a further walk-in booster vaccination clinic today. This clinic will be geared towards people aged 60 to 69. To be eligible for a booster Covid-19 jab people also need to have reached an interval of at least 150 days since their second dose vaccine

  5,471 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed this evening. 579 patients are in hospital with the virus, unchanged from yesterday, while the ICU figure is up seven, to 122. The chief medical officer says there’s been a ‘rapid deterioration’ in the situation among 5 to 11 year olds, with cases rising sharply. Dr

  The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation is calling on the government to provide clear and consistent guidelines for schools. It follows the cabinet decision to recommend the wearing of face masks for pupils from third to sixth class. INTO General Secretary John Boyle says clear and unambiguous guidance increases the likelihood that government decisions will

    Listen back to the latest main evening news, sport and obituaries for Tuesday November 30th here:

    1,585 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in the North in the last 24 hours. There have been 2 additional covid related deaths. There are 341 patients being treated for the disease in hospital in Northern Ireland, with 31 in ICU.

Here is the full test of the government statement issued this afternoon  – Minister O’Brien announces enhancements to the Defective Concrete Block Scheme The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD has announced significant enhancements to the Defective Concrete Block Scheme. Minister O’Brien said the core issues raised in relation to the

  Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien says he doesn’t want to see a crisis like Mica ever happen again. He says the Government is making an extraordinary intervention as the revised redress scheme is unveiled. He has acknowledged that the rebuilding cap of €420,000 and €145 per sq. ft for the first 1,000 sq. ft will

The Whitehouse Road, Derry is currently closed to through traffic as police carry out enquiries as part of an ongoing investigation. Road users are advised to seek an alternative route for journey. No further details are currently available.

  Over 1,000 people awaited admission to Letterkenny University Hospital over the course of November. As expected, the hospital was one of the worst hit for overcrowding in Ireland over the same period. It come as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is calling for the public and private healthcare systems to act as one