Category: Old Donegal

The UK Supreme Court says the PSNI’s decision to discontinue its investigation into the treatment of the ‘Hooded Men’ was unlawful.

Seven judges ruled the 2014 decision was wrong and that the treatment the men were subjected to would be characterised today as torture.

It follows a hearing before the UK’s highest court in June, which heard arguments the 12 men were subjected to torture after being held without trial in 1971.

48 people are waiting on a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital today.

The hospital remains the second most over crowded in the country.

9 patients are on a trolley in the Emergency Department while a further 39 are waiting on wards elsewhere in the hospital.

A total of 485 people are on trolleys at hospitals across the country according to the latest Trolley Watch report from the INMO.

Donegal County Council is being urged to put further pressure on the Health Minister and the National Ambulance Service with a view towards a review being carried out of the current operational model being used by the emergency service.

Councillor Gerry McMonagle who is also Vice Chair of the Regional Health Forum West has repeatedly raised concern over issues with the ambulance service in Donegal, most notably lenghty response times as a result of a lack of cover in areas.

He believes the current model falls well short of the needs of the county given the rural nature of the region.

Councillor McMonagle believes the current ambulance service model is not fit for purpose:

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The Agriculture Minister says personal responsibility is vital in the run up to Christmas.

The Chief Medical Officer did not recommend any new restrictions when he met with Government party leaders last night.

Public health officials will continue to monitor the spread of the Omnicron variant while the booster campaign is accelerated.

Minister Charlie McConalogue says people should ensure they get the booster:

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Donegal Airport

More than €100 million has been allocated to the country’s airports as part of a Covid support package.

Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Ireland West, Kerry and Donegal have been given €108 million in funding in order to provide support during the Covid pandemic.

€600,000 has been sanctioned for Donegal Airport.

The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton says the government will continue to review their needs:

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The executive summary of a report into prolonged sexual abuse of intellectually disabled residents at a disability centre in Donegal is to be published tomorrow.

Up to now the HSE had refused to publish the report into the abuse at the Ard Greine and the Sean O’Hare Unit in Stranorlar.

It details how a former resident, given the pseudonym Brandon, sexually abused at least 18 intellectually disabled adult residents between 2003 and 2016.

Families of the victims will receive copies of the 13-page executive summary today, ahead of its publication.

Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle who has been a central figure in the fight to get the report published says it’s imperative that lessons are learnt:

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The chief medical officer did not recommend new Covid restrictions when he met government party leaders last night.

But Dr Tony Holohan presented them with new modelling about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

It made up 14 per cent of yesterday’s Covid figures – and Dr Holohan expects that to rise rapidly in the coming days.

NPHET will fully consider whether new measures are needed when it meets tomorrow morning.

The HSE will today continue to finalise an accelerated Covid booster programme, which will involve a huge redeployment of staff.

It will also include more vaccine centres, extended opening hours, and details of when over-40s can get an extra dose.

About 236,000 people got a one-shot Johnson and Johnson jab in the summer, including a huge number of people in their 20s.

Former director-general of the HSE, Tony O’Brien, says they should be prioritised before older age-groups:

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Kristine Reynolds has been announced as the new President of Letterkenny Chamber.

She has become the second female president in the history of the Chamber.

Ms Reynolds, of Reynolds & Associates who recently served as Vice President and has been a Chamber member since 2017, takes over the role from outgoing President Michael Margey.

She says given her background, she is very much steeped in promoting Letterkenny as a place to live, work, study and visit.

Irish Water’s failure to improve treatment plants has left many water supplies vulnerable and poses a risk to the health of a large portion of the population.

That’s according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which says 46 water supplies, serving one million people, are vulnerable and require significant work.

In its latest report on drinking water, it says overall quality was high, with 99.7 percent of samples compliant.

However it says more than 15,500 people were on boil-water notices for longer than one month last year, and it’ll take decades for the utility to remove all lead connections at their current rate of replacement.

In Donegal, the Ballymagroarty and Glenties-Ardara water supplies were on the EPA’s Remedial Action List last year due to elevated levels of THMs, according to the latest report.

Noel Byrne from the EPA, says it’s concerned about supply in the future:

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The full report can be viewed here