Author name: oisinkelly

The Mayor of Derry is calling on Minister Edwin Poots to clarify his future plans for services at Altnagelvin hospital following recent speculation that the current funding crisis may have a detrimental impact on local services. There’s been speculation that budgetary problems may hamper plans for staff training, and that could push back the opening […]

321 cannabis plants – worth around 128 thousand euro – have been seized by Gardai in Donegal. They were found when Gardai searched a house at Magherawarden in Portsalon yesterday. A 28 year old man was arrested at the scene and brought to Letterkenny Garda Station for questioning. Inspector John O’Toole has been speaking about

The number on Live Register in Donegal has fallen below 20 thousand. The figures for August show 19,761 signing on a fall of 1,661 compared to August 2013. The significant year on year fall will be attributed by some to emigration and controversial schemes such as jobbridge while others will see it as an indication

  A meeting takes place tonight in Letterkenny hosted by a group of farmers unhappy with the IFA’s stance on the new CAP deal which they says will be detrimental to small farmers. They group want changes to pillar two of the CAP programme which deals with disadvantaged and rural areas as many farmers will

Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson says the announcement by Minister Alan Kelly of how the property tax will operated is further evidence that the government is trying to dupe the people. Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty says while Minister Kelly is pledging that no authority will receive less than 2014, he fails to mention that

The Buncrana Road in Derry has reopened following an earlier road traffic collision. The road was closed in both directions following the two vehicle crash close to Whitehouse Retail Park shortly after 4pm on Thursday. There are no details of any injuries sustained.

Sinn Féin MEP’s Matt Carthy and Martina Anderson have been denied entry into Gaza. They were part of a delegation of 15 MEPs from 6 countries. Speaking from Jerusalem, Ms Anderson, who is leading the delegation, said the Israeli government refused the delegation entry on the grounds that the visit to the region is ‘not

The Inishowen Municipal District Committee will today hear a proposal for Carnagarve Beach in Moville to be designated under the Bathing Waters Directive. This would open the way for the beach to be awarded Blue Flag Status, and woul also mean Donegal County Council would have to revisit its plans for the location of a

The HSE is cooperating with a number of organisations and local groups to develop a Suicide Prevention Action Plan for County Donegal. The HSE says while lots of good work is going on in the county, there is still much that can be done to promote mental health, prevent further suicide deaths and support those

The fire service in Letterkenny has dealt with a fire on a school bus in the town. It happened just before 9.30 this morning in the Glencar area, close to Fernhill. We understand there were no passengers on the bus at the time, and there were no injuries. The area has been cleared, and gardai

The Oaklee Trinity Housing Organisation has confirmed that it will not proceed with plans for an alcohol addiction unit at the Nazareth House site in Derry. There was substantial opposition from the local community when the plan for the unit was first mooted earlier this year, with local people saying there was a saturation of

IBEC North West is calling for investment in infrastructure in next months budget, as well as measures to boost consumer spending. The group says the right tax environment is needed to encourage companies to reinvest their money in new projects, and says the best way to promote growth is to put money in people’s pockets

The Mayor of Derry is launching an initiative in the city to get a better understanding of what’s being done in the city in terms of job creation and developing the local skills base. Cllr Brenda Stevenson is to meet with a number of agencies to ensure that information is shared in relation to the

Green School committee at Niall Mor NS in Killybegs   An Taisce has launched a campaign to encourage families to walk or cycle to school. With the new school year now underway, the organisation’s Green Schools Education Officer in Donegal says in the case of families who travel in cars because they live too far

Broadcaster Christine Bleakley has been filming  a new TV series to highlight the Wild Atlantic Way. The series is being supported by Tourism Ireland. The photographs show her with with Paddy Clarke of the Slieve League Cultural Centre, and also at Rossknowlagh.

A Donegal man has admitted performing a sex act on the Dublin to Derry bus. Derry Magistrates Court that the incident was caught on a CCTV camera. The court was told that a female passenger who had fallen asleep on the Dublin to Derry bus on June 22 this year raised the alarm after waking up

A West Tyrone MLA has claimed that there is a social housing crisis in Strabane. And 308 people could face homelessness in the town if the crisis isn’t addressed. 680 people are currently on the social housing waiting list, and 308 of these are considered urgent. Meanwhile up to 400 houses need maintenance work in

The Cockhill Bridge Action Group are calling on Donegal County Council to explain why money raised for a new footbridge hasn’t been used. The council levied developers of a new housing estate near Cockhill Bridge which was meant to pay for a new footbridge. But no footbridge has ever been built. The action group are

SDLP Derry MLA Colum Eastwood has criticised Northern Irelands Culture Minister for what he described as a “failure to deliver on key promises for Derry’s City of Culture legacy.” Mr Eastwood made the comments following the revelation that no money has been allocated to the Minister’s department to strengthen the legacy of Derry’s year as

Primary teachers are calling on Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan to take action on class sizes. In a statement, the INTO says more than 16,200 pupils in Donegal schools are in classes of twenty or more, with 4,000 of them in classes of thirty or more. INTO Spokesperson Peter Mullan says these figures show the reality

It’s claimed Northern Ireland’s Secretary of State will tell hundreds of IRA terror suspects they no longer have immunity from prosecution. According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Theresa Villiers is due to announce that the “comfort letters” – issued to on-the-run suspects ahead of the Good Friday Agreement – are now worthless. The letters were

Former Donegal TD and hotelier Jim White has passed away aged 76. Friends and Fine Gael sources confirmed he died in the Mater Hospital shortly before 10 pm last night. Mr White was a TD from 1973 to 1982 but did not contest the general election in February 1982 after he was overlooked for a

A man who was convicted of the manslaughter of a Donegal garda – and assaulted officers while on the run – is to be released from prison early. 24-year-old Garda Gary Mc Loughlin died following a traffic collision at Lisfannon, Burt in December 2009. 27-year-old Martin McDermott was jailed for seven years as a result after

An Independent Councillor is calling on the local authority to ‘come clean’ on what it knew about the flooding risk at Letterkenny General Hospital. In 2013, tens on millions of euro in damage was caused when floods hit the hospital with a second less sever flooding incident a year later. Councillor Dessie Shiels says an

The HSE is urging parents to check their children’s vaccination records. In particular, parents of children that started school this September are being reminded to ensure that their children have received the school vaccination booster. The HSE says the school booster vaccines include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping cough, Polio, Measles, Mumps and Rubella, the Tetanus vaccine will

90 cyclists are set to take part in a charity cycle in memory of two Gardaí killed in the line of duty here in Co Donegal. Former colleagues and friends of the late Gardai Robbie McCallion of Letterkenny Garda Station and Garda Gary McLoughlin who was attached to Buncrana Garda Station are participating in a

Failte Ireland have launched a new smartphone app for the Wild Atlantic Way. The app claims to be the definitive guide to the world’s longest defined coastal touring route. The Wild Atlantic Way stretches 2,500km from Inishowen to Kinsale. Since launching this April, The Wild Atlantic Way has played a significant role in boosting tourism

A Derry man has entered guilty pleas in relation to a series of charges involving possessing guns, explosives and gas. 30 year old Gary McPhillips of 34, Hawkin Street pleaded guilty to second limb possession of weapons, ammunition and explosives and also possessing class a and class b controlled drugs with intent to supply on