Author name: oisinkelly

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

The Department of Health has confirmed a further 3,685 cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland today. It’s also confirmed that the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 is continuing to fall. Figures released today show there are now 444 people being treated in hospital for the virus, a fall of

Anybody who owns a property must file a Local Property Tax return with Revenue before Wednesday evening. The deadline, which was originally due to come tomorrow, has been extended until the middle of the week. Revenue’s admitted the process is causing some stress among people who aren’t used to dealing with the system regularly. Pat

A leading medical professor says a new anti-viral drug – in combination with vaccines – could lead to the end of the Covid 19 pandemic in Ireland by next Spring. Paul Moynagh’s comments follow the announcement by Pfizer that it’s new drug Paxlovid cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 percent in vulnerable