Author name: oisinkelly

  Officials from the Department of Education are to meet with Donegal ETB over concerns relating to children affected by the Mica issue. The issue was raised in the Dail last night by Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle, who says children are living under severe pressure and schools needs to be able to respond to their

  A leading professor believes that air pollution in Letterkenny is so bad that he is advising people not to exercise outside in the latter half of the evening. Last week, air quality sensors found that Letterkenny was one of a number of towns that the most particulate matter in the air. It’s been claimed

  The need for a review of the current ambulance service model is back under the spotlight. It’s been revealed that in the Finn Valley area while there is just 1 ambulance crew available, no night time cover is provided Monday to Thursday. Donegal Town, Ballyshannon and Killybegs only have one crew available also, there

  A victim of the Mica scandal in Donegal has been told by the ESB that be must leave his premises due to impact of the crumbling block issue on his property. Micheal Shovlin lives in a two bed apartment in the county and noticed cracks back in 2009. Subsequent testing confirmed Mica, Pyrite and

  Antigen testing will be introduced in schools on Monday, the Education Minister has confirmed. Normal Foley says it’ll be operational from the 29th, and guidance will be made available to schools and parents this week. Meanwhile unions and the department are meeting to discuss student teachers being recruited to primary schools to deal with

  Andrew McGinley, who was dropped from RTÉ’s Late Late Show line-up, says he would never set out to intentionally upset anyone. The Donegal man was due to announce plans for a fundraising concert in his children’s memory. They were killed by their mother at their home in Newcastle in Dublin when she was suffering

  There’s pressure on authorities in Northern Ireland to sanction a fresh inquest into the death of Michael Leonard. The Donegal man was shot dead by the RUC almost 50 years ago, after a car chase close to the Fermanagh and Donegal border between Pettigo and Belleek on May 17, 1973. At the time police

  Boosters for the over 50s won’t start to be administered until the end of year. The HSE says boosters for the medically vulnerable will be completed first. Boosters for the over 50s were given the green light over a week ago. Head of the HSE’s vaccination and test and trace programmes, Damien McCallion, says

  PCR testing capacity needs to be increased, according to the Social Democrats. No appointments are available for numerous test centres around the country, with GPs calling for more walk-in community testing centres. 3,666 cases of COVID-19 were detected yesterday, while 638 patients with the virus are in hospital – including 130 in ICU. Social

  A new deal for farmers has been voted through the European Parliament. MEPs have backed the new Common Agricultural Policy with a large majority. It’s hoped the reformed CAP will prove to be “greener, fairer, more flexible”, according to the parliament. At least one-quarter of farmers’ funding will now depend on environmental schemes. Midlands

  The HSE has confirmed that work on the the new community hospital in Letterkenny is expected to commence in the third quarter of next year. The 110 bed unit will provide long and short stay beds as well as a rehabilitation unit. An update report on the project as requested by Councillor Ciaran Brogan

  The head of the HSE is due before the Oireachtas Health Committee this morning to address capacity issues in the health system this winter. CEO Paul Reid is expected to tell politicians the massive increase in Covid-19 admissions is compounding pressure already on the health service. Mr Reid will also warn of the additional

  A union representing primary school teachers says students are putting on the ‘green jersey’ by stepping in as substitutes during the Covid-19 crisis. It’s expected around 4-thousand teaching students will serve as subs in primary schools starting as early as next week. Teaching colleges have agreed to reschedule exams and assignments to facilitate the

  Agriculture and Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue has rejected a claim from Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle that the government has effectively given up on the Irish fishing industry. Deputy Pringle was speaking Minister McConalogue asked the cabinet to approve a €66 million decommissioning scheme for the whitefish sector, as part of a suite of measures

Agriculture and Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue has rejected a claim from Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle that the government has effectively given up on the Irish fishing industry. Deputy Pringle was speaking Minister McConalogue asked the cabinet to approve a €66 million decommissioning scheme for the whitefish sector, as part of a suite of measures to

The Taoiseach has told the Dail that while the government will seek accountability regarding Mica, a public inquiry would take years to complete, and cannot be the immediate priority. Michael Martin was responding to Deputy Thomas Pringle, who raised recent media reports about the purchase of five Mica affected houses by Donegal County Council. Deputy

Both petrol and diesel prices have increased by over a quarter when compared with last year. New figures from the AA show the cost of filling up is at a record high, with petrol at 1 euro 72 point 6 cent a litre. Diesel isn’t too far behind at 1 euro 63-point-3 cent a litre.

A Donegal TD claims that the government has effectively given up on the Irish fishing industry. Deputy Thomas Pringle was speaking after the reports that Ministers Charlie McConalogue and Pippa Hackett have asked the cabinet to approve a €66 million decommissioning scheme for the whitefish sector. It’s understood the proposed measure is a response to

A Donegal garda is urging people to regularly check their bank balances online after revealing she was scammed this week. On this morning’s Community Garda Slot, Garda Grainne Doherty said while she was checking her account last night, she noticed three transactions from her account, despite the fact that she has clicked no links or

  It’s hoped that a pay increase for County Councillors will attract more candidates into local politics. The pay, known as a ‘representational payment’ has increased by just under 40% to more than 26,000 euro a year. Cabinet approved the increase earlier this year which took into account the recommendations of an independent review in

  The Garda Representative Association says the number of attacks on Gardaí has risen significantly in recent years. The organisation, which is holding it’s annual conference in Kerry, wants mandatory sentences introduced for those convicted of assaulting officers. Vice President of the GRA, Brendan O’Connor, says it’s having an impact on the number of Gardaí

  There are calls on the HSE to reinstate the pop-up Covid 19 testing facility in Inishowen as a matter of urgency. It comes as latest figures show that the Covid incidence rate in North Inishowen is the second highest nationwide and the highest in Donegal. The walk in testing centre on the peninsula ceased

  There are renewed calls for special attention to be paid to Letterkenny University Hospital to tackle overcrowding and cancellations. It comes as North West Sinn Fein TDs met with the executive management team of the Saolta Hospital Group yesterday, where issues affecting the system were laid bare. Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn is warning that

  Shoppers are set to spend less this Christmas as consumer confidence has taken a hit in November. According to the KBC Bank Ireland consumer sentiment index only one in eight consumers plans to spend more this Christmas than last, while one in three expects to spend less. Austin Hughes Chief economist with the bank

Sinn Fein’s health spokesperson is calling for an urgent plan to be put in place to address overcrowding and a surge of cancellations at hospitals within the Saolta Hospital Group. It comes following a meeting between Deputy David Cullinane and the hospital group’s executive management team. Numerous issues were discussed, among those, the pressure facing

  The Agriculture Minister has given reassurances that everything is being done to combat bird flu. Confirmed H5N1 has been detected in a turkey flock in Monaghan with additional surveillance steps put in place. It comes as a number of wild birds in Donegal were confirmed with the condition earlier this month. Minister Charlie McConalogue