Author name: oisinkelly

The INMO says Letterkenny General Hospital’s maternity unit it severely understaffed. It currently has a ratio of 41 births to each midwife – compared to an international best practice ratio of 29.5 to one. The figures have been released by the INMO today which says the situation nationally has worsened greatly over the last five

A police investigation has been launched following a vehicle hijacking in the Carnhill area of Shantallow this morning. At around 1.30am a man was assaulted by a number of males and had his car, a blue Toyota Starlet, taken. Police say the man suffered cuts and bruising to his face in the incident. The car

Gardai have issued a warning to the public across Donegal regarding the advertising and sale of fake iPhone 5’s. The phones look like the original Apple i Phone 5 and come boxed with an instruction manual, a charger, and earphones. However, the phones will not power up, accept a sim card and are useless with

600 people have applied for five part-time jobs in a Derry restaurant. It’s understood a large number of the applicants were University graduates and people returning from Australia. The Mandarin/Karma restaurant placed an advert in the local media last month seeking the part-time waiting staff. The owner of the business, Stan Lee, said he’s overwhelmed

Gardai are investigating after a house was ransacked and two firearms were stolen in Newtowncunningham. The robbery happened yesterday afternoon between 1pm and 2pm in Rooskey, on the road between Killea and Newtowncunningham. A substantial sum of money and a hunting knife were also stolen along with the two shotguns. A local farmer noticed a vehicle

The head of the Labour Relations Commission has been drafted in to resolve a dispute between Croke Park residents and stadium management. Kieran Mulvey has agreed to chair discussions after residents expressed outrage over the number of concerts to be held there this year. Garth Brooks and One Direction will perform for eight nights at

Two people have been killed in a fire in Co Galway overnight. The blaze broke out at a flat in Gort shortly before 3 o’clock this morning. Both bodies have been removed to University Hospital Galway where post mortems will be carried out later. The fire broke out at Tom O’Donnell’s Flats on Gort’s Railway

A Glasgow taxi driver who told passengers from Donegal speaking the Irish language in his car to leave the vehicle has had his licence suspended. Alan McKinnon has been taken off the roads for a month and instructed to take a customer courtesy course after Glasgow City Council accepted he had breached several conditions of

A Donegal woman has welcomed a Dublin solicitor who represented her being struck off the roll of solicitors by the High Court. Greg O’Neill, formerly practising at the Chapel Building, Mary’s Abbey, Dublin, was struck off the roll of solicitors by the court on a number of admitted counts of misconduct. One of the complainants was Susan Grey

A Councillor has expressed his concern that Donegal County Council will take part in the controversial Gateway local authority work placement scheme despite councillor’s opposition to it. The scheme, is intended to offer work experience to 3,000 jobseekers but Councillors in Donegal past a motion last month calling on the council not to cooperate with

Amnesty Ireland will present a detailed report on how to deal with past injustices in the North to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement later. The report, ‘Northern Ireland; Time to Deal With The Past’, calls on the committee to initiate independent inquiries into some of the atrocities that

Former US President Bill Clinton has said Northern Ireland must finish the job and resolve the outstanding issues in its peace process. He made the comments during a speech at the Guildhall Square in Derry –  he said countries around the world involved in conflict “looked to Northern Ireland for inspiration”: He also thanked former

The Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has announced it will conduct an inquiry into so-called “on the run” letters, given to more than 180 paramilitary suspects. The committee says it ‘feels it has a duty’ to investigate. The issue came to the fore when the trial of Donegal man John Downey for the Hyde Park

Gardai are investigating after a car involved in a crash on the De Valera Road in Letterkenny fled the scene. The collision occurred after 4 o’clock on Wednesday evening. Traffic was severely disrupted for a time as emergency services dealt with the incident. The road closure had a knock on effect to traffic around the

A Sinn Fein election candidate has expressed disappointment that it appears the government will not assist in funding a long term solution to to the problem of accumulating sands at Magheroarty Pier. Regular dredging has to take place to shifts sands to allow access for local fishing boats and the Tory Island Ferry. There have

Gardai are seeking the public’s assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 51 year-old Siobhan McGread from Bundoran. Siobhan was last seen at approximately 6.30 pm on the 19th February 2014 on Rougey Walk, Bundoran. Ms McGread went missing from the same area and on the same day as a coastal search was lunched following fears

The Schoolboy Football Association of Ireland is investigating claims that a 14-year-old African-born player was racially abused during an underage game in Donegal at the weekend. The incident which happened during the U15s cup match on Saturday has been reported to the FAI and the SFAI. The alleged incident is being investigated following claims that a referee stopped

A Ballyshannon town councillor has warned that heroin has become a “major problem in south Donegal”. Fianna Fail councillor Pat O’Malley said that he understood as many as 18 people died in Donegal as a result of drugs last year. Speaking on todays Shaun Doherty Show he said he was very disappointed that the Ballyshannon

Following a lengthy legal battle when four trawler skippers sought to have charges against them dismissed because of a long delay, Donegal District Court ruled today that the cases will go ahead. Judge Kevin Kilrane ruled that depositions will be taken in the court on March 11. Taking of the depositions could last several days.

1 in 4 Irish women have experienced physical or sexual violence, according to Europe s largest ever survey on violence against women. But 70 per cent of Irish women said they don’t report a serious case of violence against them – the highest of the 28 EU countries surveyed. The report by the European Union

Ash Wednesday is National ‘No Smoking Day’ and the Irish Heart Foundation is encouraging people – including those who smoke only occasionally – to stop. It’s estimated that around one million people smoke in Ireland, and a quarter are regarded as occasional or social smokers. The group says people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day

A 50-year-old man has died after the 4×4 he was driving went off the road and crashed into an embankment in Sligo. The crash happened in the early hours of this morning at approximately 1am at Corballa, off the main Sligo to Ballina road. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and his body

Former US President Bill Clinton is in Derry today where he will pay tribute to John Hume. Mr Clinton will honour the former SDLP leader’s contribution to peace in Northern Ireland in a speech at the city’s Guildhall Square. During his visit to the city, Mr Clinton will also visit the University of Ulster’s Magee

A seven-year-old Donegal girl left with cerebral palsy is to receive an interim €1.45m after her mother sued the HSE, on her child’s behalf, for the care she received during her pregnancy. The High Court heard how Ruby Leanne McCandless has diskinetic cerebral palsy and will need care for the rest of her life. The

Strabane District Councillors say they are upbeat about the A5 upgrade going ahead following a meeting this week with the North’s Roads Minister. At the meeting in Stormont the delegation was told by Danny Kennedy that he is fully committed to the project. Speaking following the meeting Chairman of Strabane District Council, Councillor Ruairí McHugh

The manager at Letterkenny General Hospital says the re-opening of the new Emergency Department next week will reduce those on trolleys at the facility, Yesterday, as the Health Minister visited the hospital, there were 29 people either being treated on trolleys or in the wards. During the Minister’s visit the Head Consultant in Emergency Medicine,

Údarás na Gaeltachta has confirmed funding of 392 thousand for a number of organisations in the Donegal Gaeltacht. An administation grant was awarded to seven Co-ops and community companies to continue their work in community development and language planning measures. Siubhán Nic Grianna, Communications and Marketing Manager with Udarus says funding was also confirmed that

A Donegal County Councillor has accused the HSE of waffling on the issue of the service provision for children with diabetes in Donegal. Yesterday up to 100 members of the Donegal Diabetes Parent Support Group held a picket at the hospital angry at a cut in the services provided for children with diabetes in Donegal

A judge has lifted an anonymity order granted to a Derry man who had been shot by republicans vigilantes in 2010. Raymond Coyle of 41, Fountain Hill in Derry was convicted last month of possessing class B drugs with intent to supply on March 16 2012 but an anonymity order had been put in place

The winter of 2013-2014 was the wettest on record in Donegal since records began. Malin Head had its wettest winter since records began there in 1885 with 530.7mm recorded there. It was also an exceptionally windy winter with a series of Atlantic storms battering the county from St Stephens Day throught to the end of

Staff at Donegal County Council are today counting the cost of another spate of vandalism over the weekend at Barrack Hill Park in Carndonagh. Vandals have caused a lot of damage to the park, which has resulted in the play area having to be closed until such time as the area can be made safe

The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly TD, visited Letterkenny General hospital today for an event to mark the forthcoming opening of the Emergency Department/Acute Medical Assessment Unit which will become operational on Wednesday March 12. The new €1.65m unit will fully restore all Emergency Department facilities along with the 11 Bed Acute Medical Assessment

The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly says the treatment that Junior Doctors receive within the health system is one of the main barriers in filling vacant posts. Dr Reilly was speaking in Letterkenny this morning as he re-opened the Emergency Department and Acute Medical Assessment Unit at Letterkenny General. Both facilities will be opened

The manager of Letterkenny General Hospital has insisted there will be no reduction in the service provision for children with diabetes suggesting services will in fact improve. Up to 100 members and supporters of the Donegal Diabetes Parent Support Group held a picket at the hospital today to coincide with the Health Minister’s visit. The

Foyle MP Mark Durkan says it’s no surprise that former Northern Secretary Peter Hain believes that British troops who took part in the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings shouldn’t face prosecution. Peter Hain’s been speaking after the trial of John Downey in the Hyde Park bombing case collapsed – because he’d received a letter telling him

The latest edition of the National Housing Construction Index compiled and issued by Link2Plans reveals a decline for Donegal, with planning applications down 9% and project commencements down 7% in 2013. However, the company says this is an improvement on the 2012 statistics, when the figure for commencements was down 27%. The company says it

The Justice Minister has defended the Gardaí’s decision not to co-operate with an investigation by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman into a murder in Donegal eight years ago. The Ombudsman is investigating the possible involvement of PSNI officers in the exposure and subsequent murder of Denis Donaldson in April 2006. Mr Donaldson, a former Sinn

Negotiations on the provision of a permanent, long-term public access to Tullan Strand in Bundoran are nearing completion, with County Managr Seamus Neeley confirming that a proposal has been agreed in principle by all relevant stakeholders. The strand is in public ownership, but tghe access road to it is private. That access has been very

A protest against the “Gateway” job scheme is taking place in Dublin today. The scheme places jobseekers, who’ve been unemployed for more than 2 years, into roles within local authorities. Last week, Donegal County Council passed a motion asking the county manager and his officials not to cooperate with the programme. MEP Paul Murphy is

MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher has confirmed he is to seek re-election to Europe. He will contest the Fianna Fail selection convention with a view to representing the party in the elections in May. In 2009 Pat the Cope Gallagher secured 16% of first preference votes but faces a tougher challenge this time round with

A former Northern Ireland Secretary claims British troops who took part in the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings shouldn’t face prosecution. Peter Hain’s been speaking after the trial of John Downey in the Hyde Park bombing case collapsed – because he’d received a letter telling him he wouldn’t be tried. Almost 200 other alleged IRA terrorists