Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn has for the second time in a week hit out at sections of the media claiming he was stitched-up on a recent episode of  Tonight with Vincent Browne. Sinn Fein’s Justice Spokesperson appeared on the show on Wednesday night to discuss the findings of the Smithwick report. During the debate Deputy […]

The Energy Minister says any strike by staff at ESB would be “out of proportion” with the scale of the pension dispute at the company. Pat Rabbitte last night asked the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to intervene in a final effort to avert strike action and power outages in the run-up to Christmas. Both sides

Donegal North East Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn has been criticised over remarks he made last night in relation to the Smithwick Tribunal report. The Smithwick Tribunal report found that collusion between members of the Gardai and the IRA took place in the killing of two senior RUC officers, Harry Breen and Pat Buchanan, after they left

A 50 foot Christmas tree has been brought down in Carndonagh as a result of the strong winds last night. The tree, which towers over the roof tops of houses in the town, was brought down by winds around 845am this morning. It took residents in the town two weeks putting the tree up and

The Health Minister is being told that the recruitment moratorium in the health service must be relaxed to allow for people on maternity leave or long term sick leave to be replaced. The call has come from Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, who says waiting lists for orthodontic treatment in Co Donegal have soared by

 The Dungloe Action Group says it now has serious concerns that the proposed Dungloe and Glenties Sewerage schemes will not go ahead. In August of this year, Minister Dinny McGinley says the final hurdle had been passed which would allow the schemes go ahead in ‘a matter of weeks’. However as 2013 draws to a

The Chair of Strabane District Council has criticised the Parades Commission for placing no restrictions on this weekend’s Apprentice Boys march in Castlerderg. Saturday morning’s march has been granted unrestricted access through the mainly Nationalist Ferguson Crescent. A second parade will take place Castlederg on Saturday evening. Earlier this year restrictions were placed on a

Up to 50 jobs are to be created in Co Tyrone by a Canadian based gold mining company. Dalradian Resources are to extend an existing gold and common metals project near Gortin. The company already employs 20 people at the site. The Norths Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, says it great news for the area

There’s still no clarity on how the Leader programme is to be administered into the future. Environment Minister Phil Hogan has yet to spell out his plans for a greater alignment between Leader and local authorities. At present, Leader in Donegal is administered by Inishowen Development Partnership, and Donegal Local Development Company in the rest

Aer Lingus passenger numbers fell by 5 percent last month when compared with November last year. Short haul numbers decreased by 4.7 percent, while long haul passengers saw a bigger drop of 6.9 percent. The company says the numbers are in line with their expectations and say they are not forecasting any improvement in short

Seven out 34 Ministerial advisers are in breach of the government pay cap. Four of the most senior advisers to the Taoiseach and Tanaiste are earning a salary of nearly double the 87,000 cap. Ministers can apply to the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform to pay staff above the set limits on

The justice minister says over 30,000 people have applied to join the Gardaí. Alan Shatter says advertisements seeking a new batch of Garda recruits will be published next week. He says the number of people who’ve expressed an interest in joining the force is over three times more than usual. And he says it’s possible

The number of people signing on has dropped again – with 3,400 less people claiming the dole in November. While 406,200 people are still on the Live Register, it’s the lowest total since June 2009. The Live Register has now declined by 25,400 so far this year. Emigration is widely acknowledged as contributing to the

The first ever review of childcare costs in Ireland finds more than half of lower earners with young children can’t afford to work. The independent report finds Ireland has the second highest cost of childcare in the OECD, as a percentage of the average wage, and a person on that income would spend most of

Almost 50 jobs are to be created in Derry with two companies expanding their businesses in the city. Derry-based IT firm, HostSure Northern Ireland is expanding its workforce – creating 14 new jobs. While Domino’s Pizza is creating 30 new jobs with the opening of a store in the city side. Derry City Cllr, John

The CEO of Donegal Local Development Company says the vast majority of Gaeltacht projects left without funding following the collapse of MFG have now had their grants finalised. MFG Teo ceased trading in September 2011, and DLDC was appointed to administer its Leader portfolio the following July. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh was speaking following the launch

Police have confirmed that eight people have been arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal drugs in Derry. 70 officers carried out 19 searches throughout the city yesterday in the Creggan, Strathfoyle and Galliagh areas. There were five seizures of herbal cannabis, one of cannabis resin and seven of suspected methadrone. Area Commander Chief

  Donegal County Council has this week launched a new Interactive Roads Gritting map as part of its ‘Be Winter Ready campaign’. The map provides motorists and road users with up to date information on routes to be gritted and basic statistics on the length of roads to be gritted on a given night. It

The Letterkenny Chamber has launched a new initiative to offer vacant premises on the town’s Main Street to interested parties to use them as temporary, low cost space for business The Pop-Up Shop initiative will offer temporary, low cost space for local business entrepreneurs, social enterprise or community benefit. The Chamber says the main aims

New figures show that absenteeism rates among local authority staff are twice that of workers in the private sector but of all local authorities, Donegal council workers seem that have the best health. According to the latest report from the Local Government Audit Service absenteeism rates attributed to illness in city and county councils have

The Chairperson of Strabane District Council wants to hold a council reception for local lottery winner Margaret Loughrey. The 48-year-old struck gold after hitting five numbers and two Lucky Stars in last weeks Euromillions draw. The unemployed woman, from Carlton Drive in the town, won 32 million euro. Strabane District Council Chairman, Ruiari McHugh says

A van-driver with excess alcohol was watching the Champions League final in a pub shortly before he died in a road crash, his inquest heard yesterday. 31-year-old Seamus McGroary was pronounced dead at two minutes past midnight after watching Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund. The inquest in Donegal was told his van was in a

The Minister for Justice has denied that the reputation of An Garda Siochana is on the line as a result of the findings of the Smithwick Tribunal. Alan Shatter has apologised for any shortcomings on behalf of the Irish state and says he will raise the findings of the report in the Dail. The report

Bank of Ireland has started the process of repaying the State bailout of the bank. The financial institution will return the final 1.8 billion euro of the 4.8 billion that the government invested in 2009 through the issuing of new shares and the raising of cash through investors. The deal means the taxpayer has made

A West Tyrone MLA has said that a new leisure centre should be built in Strabane town centre. In August consultants told Strabane District Council that the current facility, Riversdale Leisure Centre, was no longer fit for purpose. Consultants said that if moves were not made to replace Riversdale, then it would eventually close itself.

The Health Service has agreed to pay almost 800-thousand euro to the family of a 29-year-old woman who died eight days after giving birth to her first child. Dhara Kivlehan , who is a native of India, died in September of 2010 after developing pre-eclampsia and a related condition. The High Court heard she did

The new Interim Outpatient Department for Letterkenny General Hospital has been formally handed over to management, and will be fully operational by next Monday. The Outpatient Department was one of the areas damaged by flood waters earlier this year, and Outpatient clinics were relocated to a number of different temporary locations within the hospital and

Donegal County Council is inviting submissions for the preparation of the new strategic County Donegal Heritage Plan. The council says the focus of submissions should be on actions that can be taken over the next five years to interpret, conserve, manage, enhance or promote County Donegal’s heritage. People have until December 18th to outline what

The North’s Regional Development Minister is being urged to provide more support for rural transport services in West Tyrone and Derry. The call has come from West Tyrone MLA Joe Byrne, who says there have been very welcome advances made in recent years, but the sector must be properly funded. He says initiatives such as

Sinn Fein’s Pádraig MacLochlainn has criticised the TV3 Documentary ‘Sinn Fein, who are they?’ as a demonstration of poor journalism. The series ended last night with Deputy MacLochlainn describing it as a missed opportunity. He claims certain sections of the media are obsessed with questions on the IRA while the general public is not: Deputy

A cup of tea has inspired a French artist to win the Turner Prize. The prestigious award was presented to London-based Laure Prouvost  in Derry last night. Her video installation in a mocked up tea party was praised by judges for being “technologically current.” As she received the award on Channel 4 last night, she

Ulster Bank says all services should now be back up and running after technical problems yesterday. Account holders reported problems with online purchases and card transactions. The bank has apologised for the inconvenience and says no customers will be left out of pocket as a result of yesterdays problems. Business Journalist Ian Guider says anyone

Parents, teachers and community groups are being urged to attend a public meeting in Carndonagh next week to stand up for the future of local schools. Fianna Fail, which is organising the meetings, says schools with less than 85 pupils are facing severe cutbacks to resources while schools with 50 pupils or less are at

They are due to be signed into law by the Justice Minister Alan Shatter at around midday. Under the new regime the time taken to exit bankruptcy will fall from 12 years to three and the cost of declaring yourself bankrupt will be halved from around 1,400 euro to 750 euro. Public Expenditure Minister Brendan

The chairman designate of Eirgrid has pledged to work with communities over the issue of pylons. Major controversy has erupted over plans by the electricity network manager to put lines overground on huge pylons at various areas around the country. John O’Connor – who is formerly of An Bord Pleanala – is appearing before an

The number of people sleeping rough has jumped according to official figures from Dublin City Council. The latest headcount shows 139 people are on the streets of the capital on a given night. That is up from 94 people in April. It comes as councillors are asked to vote on a new three year plan

Former Labour party Chairman and Galway TD Colm Keaveney is waiting for Fianna Fáil to approve his application to join the party. A formal announcement is expected later today after a meeting of the parliamentary party. A Fianna Fáil statement confirmed the news earlier. Deputy Keaveney is now expected to ditch plans to run in 

A man charged with possessing drugs, guns and explosives in Derry last December is part of ‘an organised crime gang operating in Derry’ a police officer told the local Magistrate’s Court today. He was speaking during a bail application for 29 year old Gary McPhillips of 34 Hawkin Street in the city. He is charged

Dozens of people turned out in Sion Mills over the weekend in protest against proposals to bring a waste management plant to the village. Donegal based firm Connective Energy Holdings have submitted an application for an anaerobic digestor on the grounds of the old Herdmans Mill. Barry Whyte reports:

There are calls for an amnesty after it emerged that thousands of farmers are receiving letters from the EU seeking the return of money paid to them under the Single Farm Payment. North West MEP Jim Higgins says penalties are being imposed on farmers as a result of an audit which retrospectively changes the land

Donegal consumers are spending more than €108 million online ever year on purchases from companies outside Ireland. The figures were obtained by Emark. The group says the level of online shopping is hitting Irish retail business and job growth and will have a particularly negative impact on sales for retailers in Donegal in the run

Three people have been injured in a two car collision near Tullaghan in Co Leitrim last night. The incident happened between Tullaghan Filling Station and Duff Bridge on the Ballyshannon to Sligo Road at around 10.45pm. Two men and one woman were brought to Sligo Regional Hospital for treatment – one of them is said

Another body has been found in the debris of a Glasgow pub which was hit by a police helicopter on Friday. It takes the number of people who’ve died in the crash to nine. One of those who died, 59 year-old John McGarrigle has strong Donegal connections. His family is originally from Letterkenny. Meanwhile, Police

It’s reported that a Donegal priest has warned parishioners he may remove headstones, statues and trinkets from graves if they do not conform to strict new graveyard rules. According to the Irish Times, Fr John Walsh, parish priest in Buncrana, has also advised parishioners not to close any deal with monumental sculptors without first obtaining

The North’s Environment Minister has met with key representatives from Derry City Centre to identify measures to boost economic growth in the city. DOE Planning has established a Retail Stakeholder Group in tandem with City Centre Initiative to bring together key organisations to discuss ways to tackle trading issues affecting the City Centre The Retail

Tourism Ireland will today launch their plans to attract more visitors to Ireland over the next three years. The body is looking to bring up to 9 million people to Ireland by 2016. They are also hoping to attract more than 12.6 billion euro into the Irish economy through increased activity in the sector. Niall

The Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) is expected to make a statement in the coming days on the extent of salary top-ups taking place at the facility. Yesterday the Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said questions in relation to the use of charity money to supplement senior executives pay packets needed answering. “The board of the CRC have