Gardai in Letterkenny are investigating a burglary in the Port Road area of the town.
Between 8am on Wednesday last, November 24th and 3:45pm on Sunday, the door of the apartment at Sunnyside Apartments was forced open and a sum of money stolen during the incident.
Anyone with information, particularly fellow residents who may have seen anything suspicious in the area are asked to contact Gardai in Letterkenny.
The Taoiseach says everyone, including children, will be asked not to socialise as much as planned over the next two weeks.
Public health officials are warning there’s a high incidence of Covid-19 among 5 to 11 year olds and their parents.
New guidelines are also being considered that would see children from third class up wearing masks in school, on public transport and in shops.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet, Taoiseach Michael Martin said society needs to cut back on socialising………….
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It’s thought the Donegal Fire Service could step in as first responders in some 999 calls.
Fire personnel are already trained to administer first aid and use defibrillators when an emergency arises.
A motion is to be brought forward at the adjourned sitting of Donegal County Council by Cllr Michael McClafferty.
However in response the Council says that the fire service is not resourced to provide a medical source to the public.
Cllr McClafferty is disappointed as he believes that the initiative could help alleviate some of the problems being faced by the overall system:
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The Policing Authority will today hear an update from the Garda Commissioner on the mass cancellation of 999 calls.
During the summer, it emerged emergency calls were being cancelled by operators since 2019.
However, it subsequently emerged the problem was continuing despite additional staff training and changes to call and dispatch technology.
Chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Fianna Fail Deputy James Lawless, says it’s unacceptable for any emergency calls to be ignored:
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A Donegal family is to receive the Seiko Just in Time Award in recognition of their efforts in saving the lives of three girls from the water earlier this year.
Joseph, Kristin and Sean McNulty are to be honoured at Water Safety Ireland’s National Annual Awards Ceremony later this evening.
In September this year, the McNulty family were walking on Bundoran Beach when they noticed three girls trapped on a sandbank by surrounding water.
Two of the girls were trying to swim to safety and the third girl was now stranded up to chest level in the water.
Kristin grabbed a ringbuoy, while both Joseph and Sean entered the water up to their waist. The ringbuoy was used to pull two of the girls to safety.
As Joseph & Kristin edged closer to the third girl, Sean also entered the water with the ringbuoy.
He managed to reach her and pull her to safety in a cross-chest hold.
Water Safety Ireland says that without their quick thinking, the outcome could have been very different.
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys will present the awards to the rescuers in appreciation for saving lives.
Nationally, 24 lives have been saved from drowning by rescuers this year.
A revised Mica redress scheme will be brought before Cabinet this morning.
The scheme will cover 100% of the costs of rebuilding work up to a cap of €420,000. Reports also suggest a cap of €138 per square-foot, which the Mica Action Group yesterday said they will not support as it falls short of the estimated €150 required to rebuild affected homes.
A €10,000 rental accommodation allowance is set to be included.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien intends to appoint a senior counsel to review how the issues happened, and a new building standards regulator will be set up to prevent such issues occurring again.
Meanwhile families representing affected households are in Brussels today.
Affected homeowner and campaigner, Eileen Doherty says today they will be raising further the need for 100% redress:
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There has been a lot of ‘constructive feedback’ as it relates to the Donegal Caravan, Camping and Camper van study.
The study, commissioned earlier this year set out to assess such facilities in the county and to determine where and if additional sites could be established.
A range of submissions from various sectors, groups and the general public were compiled as part of the study.
Some Cllrs were of the view that the study should have been passed at yesterday’s sitting of Donegal County Council however it was postponed to next Monday.
Cllr Nicholas Crossan feels that that’s another week wasted on an important initiative:
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Cabinet ministers will decide this morning whether everyone coming into Ireland should need to have a negative Covid test.
Public Health officials made the advice last night after updating Government party leaders on the Omicron variant.
Last night CMO Dr Tony Holohan met the three Government party leaders and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly along with Ronan Glynn, Philip Nolan and Cillian de Gascun.
The meeting heard the number of new cases has stabilised in recent days but at high levels.
During an update on the Omicron variant health officials said it would be another two weeks before there’s a clearer understanding of the risk posed.
Cabinet will consider requiring everyone arriving into Ireland to have a negative Covid test, regardless of vaccine status, within 72 hours pre-travel.
It would have to be a negative laboratory test – so a PCR test or a medically supervised antigen test, rather than one done at home.
The measures are expected to apply to all flights and ferries into Ireland, including from Great Britain.
It’s expected Ministers will also advise children under 12 should be limited to one indoor social activity a week outside schools.
While NPHET recommended a two week ban, Cabinet are likely to ask parents to strictly limit the social activity of children.
For example, in that scenario children could go to a pantomime one week, and a playdate the next.
NPHET warned infection rates among 5 to 11 year olds and their families are still very high.
Brendan Devenney & Declan Bonner
On this weeks DL Debate podcast, Brendan Devenney is joined by county senior managers Declan Bonner and Maxi Curran.
There’s also reaction from the weekend’s provincial club championship games.
Listen to the DL Debate in association with Sara’s Kitchen at Sister Sara’s Letterkenny:
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The Department of Health has reported 4,607 new cases of Covid-19.
579 people are in hospital with the virus, of whom 115 are in ICU.
The Chief Medical Officer, Tony Holohan, says Covid-19 continues to have an significant impact on the health service, and urged people to follow the public health guidance.
