Author name: oisinkelly

A student attending Letterkenny Institute of Technology is being forced to undertake a 270km round trip 4 days a week due to a lack of student accommodation in Letterkenny. Tadhg Cadden, a Quantity Surveying student leaves his home in Sligo each morning at 7am and some evenings, may not return until 8:30pm evenings. He says […]

The Government is being urged to stop ‘leaking trial balloons’ as it relates to the Mica Redress Scheme. Details of a so-called ‘enhanced scheme’ were due to be published today however, it is being delayed as further adjustments are to be carried out. It’s after speculation that a cap of €350,000 would be included in

There is no appetite among communities in the North for a return to violence, according to Sinn Fein. It comes after a decision by bus drivers in Belfast to walk out in protest over the recent hijacking and burning of vehicles. Cavan Monaghan TD Matt Carthy says the recent violence has no support from the

There are calls for the Breast Check Unit in Letterkenny to change location. Currently the unit sits outside the Public Service Centre in the town however there’s concern that the site is currently not ideal due to construction taking place nearby and a lack of privacy for those attending. It is proposed to move the

It’s been confirmed that work is to start to fix what’s been described as the most problematic water supply in south Inishowen. The line at Inch Island serves hundreds of customers yet bursts quite frequently, sometimes leaving residents without water for long periods of time. Irish Water has stated that it is to carry out

Government officials will meet the hospitality sector today about their lack of compliance with Covid rules. The Department of the Taoiseach sought the meeting on Friday, after new ESRI data was released. It found 34 per cent of customers in restaurants aren’t having their Covid certs checked – and 37 per cent in pubs. But

The driver of a bus that was hijacked and set alight in Newtownabbey, County Antrim last night has been left traumatised, according to the union representing him. Unite trade union has called on all politicians to act to end these attacks. Masked men forced passengers and the driver off a bus at the loyalist Rathcoole

Official Christmas parties in controlled settings are preferable to ‘unofficial’ work Christmas parties, according to Donegal GP. High levels of Covid-19 in the community have cast a shadow over planning for the festive season this year. NPHET has advised people to ‘dial back’ their socialising and ‘ration’ their activities. Stranorlar Dr Denis McCauley, who chairs

A Lifford based councillor is questioning a proposal to call the old army barracks the ‘Three Coins Centre’. Cllr Gerry Crawford has previously said he favours calling it ‘The Prior’, in recognition of the school that previously stood on the site. It has been agreed that a building in the complex will be called ‘The

  Around 400 primary school children are testing positive for Covid 19 every day, according to the Irish National Teachers Organisation. It says it’s very concerned about the escalation in cases and is once again calling for contact tracing to resume in primary schools. The Health Minister says it’s being considered in the run up

The HSE has confirmed that respite services are to return to Mountcharles and Dungloe. Rehab Group are to provide respite services at Seaview House five days a week while the HSE has made a funding submission to extend the service to seven days a week. Meanwhile, respite care is set to resume at Dungloe Community

A West Donegal Councillor believes cameras need to be used in a bid to tackle illegal dumping in the area. In recent days household items, including a hoover have been dumped between Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy. Councillor Michael McClafferty has appealed once again to those responsible to properly dispose of waste. He says there is no

Deputy Michael Healy Rae says the delay in rolling out broadband is ‘extremely worrying’ to rural Ireland. Fewer than 3,000 homes and businesses have been connected to high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan. The target is to reach 115,000 premises by the end of January next year, but by then the figure is only

The Environment Minister will attend the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow today. Eamon Ryan had tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, and had initially cancelled plans to attend. However he had a second PCR test which came back negative – and was given the green light to travel. Colm Brophy, Minister of State for

The UK is prepared to suspend parts of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland, according to reports. The Daily Telegraph says British ministers are already working on legal changes to customs regulations. The Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said such a move could spark a trade dispute between the EU and UK. MEP

There are now strong signs the British government is preparing to trigger Article 16 of the Brexit withdrawal deal. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney told RTE Radio earlier he believes Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to do it immediately, following the COP26 climate summit. It would mean a unilateral suspension of elements of the

The Health Minister says he’s now thinking about reversing course, to once again require contact tracing among classmates of schoolchildren who’ve contracted Covid-19. The HSE suspended investigations in primary schools in September, shortly before the phased reopening of workplaces began. As under-12s were not eligible to be vaccinated, if they were considered close contacts they

A leading immunologist says Ireland would be back in lockdown now if it wasn’t for our high Covid-19 vaccination rate. The high levels of infection seen over the past few days have continued – with 3,685 further people testing positive for the virus yesterday. It’s the fifth day in a row the official tally has