Author name: oisinkelly

The INTO is calling for the government to set up a public awareness campaign to help stop the spread of Covid-19 in schools. The HSE’s testing and tracing system is under pressure after 28 thousand children presented for PCR tests in the past seven days. Many pupils have been told to stay at home, after

A Fianna Fail backbencher believes the party has confidence in the Foreign Affairs Minister. The party is due to meet for its annual think-in in Cavan today and tomorrow, before the return of the Dail next week. The failed appointment of Katherine Zappone to a UN role in New York has dominated headlines for the

38 locations across the country will get permanent weather-resistant facilities, including two in Donegal, to allow for a longer outdoor dining season. Donegal County Council will receive over €260,000 in Fáilte Ireland funding to provide for these permanent outdoor dining facilities – just over €126,000 will be dedicated to the Bundoran Oceanside, and €137,000 will

Papers presented to today’s Education Committee at Stormont have reported that plans for a new Irish medium school in Strabane are on time and on budget. Procurement is due to take place before the end of the year, with construction set to start by June next year, and the school set to open in autumn

Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Jack Murray has welcomed the news that Burnfoot based firm E&I Engineering is being sold in a deal worth up to €1.7 billion. E&I, which makes electrical switchgear and power distribution systems, is being bought by American-based company Vertiv Holdings. E&I say that all current roles will be protected, and

The Registrar of Letterkenny Institute of Technology says there are vacancies on almost half the courses on offer at the facility, and they will be offered at 12 noon today for people who wish to make new applications Billy Bennett says in terms of the offers made in the CAO’s first round yesterday, the numbers

Ireland can expect the decline in daily covid-19 cases numbers to continue, according to an immunovirologist. It comes as the Donegal’s five-day moving average of new cases fell below 100 this week to 98 as of midnight on Monday. On Friday last, it was 110. Professor of Immunovirology at UCC, Liam Fanning says increased vaccine

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says overcrowding in hospitals cannot be tolerated. It comes as yesterday saw the worst levels of overcrowding since the beginning of the pandemic, with 395 patients waiting on beds in hospitals across the country. There were 27 people awaiting beds in Letterkenny and 29 in Sligo. INMO General Secretary

The Irish Defence Forces are facing a mass exodus of serving members, as well as an increase in the number of recruits leaving during the training process. 338 members of the Defence Forces have left in the first seven months of this year alone, along with 86 recruits. Shortages were highlighted recently when soldiers from

The Government expects to submit its strategic plan for CAP on time by January 1st. Political agreement at EU level was reached in June on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. The new deal aims to support the transition towards more sustainable agriculture, while there will also be support for young farmers and smaller

1,748 new Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the North in the last 24 hours. There have also been another seven additional Covid-related deaths reported by the North’s Department of Health today. There are now 461 patients being treated for the disease in hospitals in Northern Ireland, with 45 in ICU. These figures come as

Gardai have renewed their appeal for information about a fire at Drumherrive between Ramelton and Rathmullan a week ago tonight. It’s believed the fire was started maliciously. The property at Drumherrive was extensively damaged by the blaze. Garda Grainne Doherty is urging anyone who can help with the investigation to come forward……

A Glenties MD Councillor is calling for more action to be taken against people who dump their household rubbish illegally. For the second time in a number of weeks, Cllr Michael McClafferty says rubbish has been dumped near a reservoir serving Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy, while a skip outside a local graveyard has now been removed

A Donegal Councillor has teamed up with a firm of solicitors to take action against Irish Water in relation to leaks in copper pipes at up to 800 homes around Gortahork. Cllr Michael Cholm Mac GiollaEasbuig says in the absence of a resolution in his discussions with the utility, they intend to proceed with a

Gardai are welcoming the latest drug seizure in the county under Operation Tara, a national initiative announced last year by Commissioner Drew Harris. The seizure was made on Thursday night last after Gardai last week stopped a vehicle which had been observed driving on the Letterkenny to Derry Road. Garda Grainne Doherty has been outlining the

A former Fine Gael Senator who is currently based Fahan says the extent of slurry pollution in Lough Swilly is only now becoming evident. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Catherine Noone told Greg Hughes she does not believe the incident reported in the Swilly at the weekend was an isolated one, and such pollution

The HSE says no walk-in testing will take place at the Letterkenny Testing Centre today, and only those with appointments should arrive at the centre. Anyone who wishes to schedule a Covid 19 test can do so at hse.ie Judith McGlynn is Test Centre Co-Ordinator in Letterkenny and at the Cleary Centre in Donegal Town.

An immunologist says it’s not surprising that up to 12,000 children are restricting their movements because they’re deemed a close contact of someone with Covid 19. Around 700 primary schools and 500 secondary schools have reported a covid case. On average, there are 15 close contacts of someone in primary school and four in secondary.

  A consultant in infectious diseases says the number of Covid patients in hospital could continue to rise, despite falling case numbers. Yesterday, the Department of Health confirmed 1,144 further cases of the virus, down 36 on the day before. There are 384 Covid patients in hospital this morning, an increase of 18 in 24

The Heritage Council is urging people in Donegal to nominate a ‘Heritage Hero’, with awards being made in every county, as well as nationally. Heritage Ireland spokesperson Ian Doyle says they want to honour people and groups who have made a significant contribution to maintaining and promoting Irish heritage. He says there were 57 National