Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh has told the Dail that more capital projects should be started to boost the economy, and there are several ready to go in Donegal. During questions to Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin, Deputy Mc Hugh quoted the economist John Maynard Keynes, who argued that the best way to […]

Up to 300 new engineering jobs are set to be announced for Omagh. A major seven figure capital investment by global engineering manufacturer Terex Finlay is expected later this morning. The multi-million pound investment will create upwards of 300 new jobs over the next two years. The news follows yesterday’s announcement that Omagh-based engineering firm

The KFO is welcoming new scientific advice recommending a 67% rise in mackerel quotas, but says the fear is that the Commission will see this as opportunity to do a deal with Iceland and Faros at the expense of Irish fishermen. In the EU parliament today, North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher hit out

A West Donegal councillor is rejecting suggestions that money set aside for the Dungloe and Glenties Sewage Schemes may be lost. Earlier today, the Dungloe Action Group said it is to meet with Donegal County Council officials tomorrow to discuss the delay in the commencement of the schemes. At the beginning of August this year,

40 new jobs are planned for Omagh in a £3.1million expansion by engineering firm Telestack, £444,000 of which will be provided by Invest NI. Welcoming the announcement, local MLA Declan Mc Aleer said the plan represents a vote of confidence in this area, he’s hopeful that as many these new skilled jobs as possible can

Two Derry men have pleaded guilty to possessing a pipe bomb found by police during a surveillance operation in the city in September 2011. 56 year old Eugene McLoone from Abercorn Road and 48 year old Daniel Martin Joseph Doyle of Bluebell Hill Gardens both pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to having the device

Gardai have issued a warning to bus company owners around the county after a number of school buses stopped at check-points where found to be unsafe. Increased Garda checks on school buses in Donegal have found that many are not road worthy. Of a total of nine buses stopped at one check point this week,

The Dungloe Action Group are to meet with Donegal County Council officials tomorrow to discuss the commencement of the Dungloe sewage scheme. At the beginning of August this year, Donegal South West Deputy, Dinny McGinley said the work would begin within a fortnight. But two months on and works have still not begun. Spokesperson for

Vandals who threw every lifebelt on Derry’s Peace bridge into the river Foyle have been condemned. Foyle Search and rescue crews discovered all the lifebelts had been vandalised during a patrol at 1am on Sunday morning. It is second time in four months that the lifebelts have been vandalised. In July it was warned anyone

The European Parliament is calling for a ban on Menthol cigarettes and other fruit-flavoured tobacco products. However they’re proposing that the ban would not come into force for several years. MEPs yesterday voted on a number of draft laws to make tobacco products less attractive to young people. The MEPs supported calls for laws to

Local Gardai at Letterkenny have issued a warning to parents of small & teenage children following a number of reports of approaches to children. Garda Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Paul Wallace stated, ’We have had a number of reports of approaches to children by male persons driving cars particularly in the Inishowen area but also

A man’s been arrested in County Antrim in connection with the attempted double bomb attack near Derry City Council’s offices last year. The man has been taken to the Antrim Serious Crime Suite for questioning. The 40 year old man was detained this morning by detectives from the Serious Crime Branch who are heading up

The Vice President of the INTO is in Donegal today for a meeting to discuss the campaign to reduce class sizes and protect smaller schools. Brendan O’Sullivan says Donegal has a far higher proportion of 1 to 4 teacher schools, and the highest proportion of minority schools in the country, but it seems these facts

 Pickets are in place outside Letterkenny General Hospital today as Non Consultant Hospital Doctors withdraw services from 51 hospitals across the state. More than 3,000 doctors are taking part in the move following a long running dispute with the HSE over working hours. Hospital Management at Letterkenny General say that the Emergency Department and other

Ballybofey has the highest proportion of vacant commercial premises in the country, according to figures published this morning by property analysts GeoDirectory and DKM Economic Consultants. 28.2% of all commercial premises are vacant in Ballybofey, compared to a national average of 12.3% The figure for Donegal as a whole is slightly above the national average

Police in Derry are appealing for information following a serious road traffic collision on the Buncrana Road last night. Shortly after 8.30pm it was reported that a collision had occurred between a car and a male pedestrian. The 17 year old male pedestrian was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. The Buncrana Road was closed

Donegal man Frank Larkin has been elected Chairperson of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland, a national campaigning body for people with disabilities. He was elected at the organisation’s annual conference at the weekend, and says he will be hitting the ground running with the budget wext week. In 2009, Mr Larkin ran as a candidate in

Sinn Féin has announced its team of candidates to contest next year’s ‘super council’ election which will see Derry and Stabane councils merge. The 21 candidates were named at a selection convention held in the party’s Rath Mór constituency office over the weekend. It is the first time candidates for both Derry and Strabane have

Pickets are in place outside Letterkenny General Hospital this morning as Non Consultant Hospital Doctors withdraw services from 51 hospitals across the state. More than 3,000 doctors are taking part in the move following a long running dispute with the HSE over working hours. The 24 action got underway at 7 o’clock this morning, but

It’s been confirmed that five beds will reopen at Dungloe Hospital from Monday of next week. Five more remain closed after the total number was reduced from 35 to 25 in May. After a public meeting in Dungloe over the summer, a deputation met with the HSE management to make a case for the reopening

Ninety percent of those eligible to pay property tax have now done so, with the joint lowest compliance rate in Donegal, where 84% have paid. Natonally, two hundred million euro had been collected by the end of September, according to the latest figures from Revenue. In Donegal, 5.2 million euro has been declared and 4.7

With winter fast looming on the horizon, HSE West is today launching its Flu Vaccination Programme, urging people in at-risk groups to get vaccinated. The HSE estimates that over the last eight flu seasons, between 200 and 500 people in Ireland died each year from flu related illness, and up to 1000 people could die

Residents in Dungloe and Glenties who are concerned at the delay in starting their long awaited sewage scheme are to meet with Donegal County Officials this week to ask that work start immediately. The meeting is being facilitated by local Councillor Marie Therese Gallagher, who says tender documents were received last November, a contractor was

The government’s proposals to scrap the Seanad have been defeated. Both Donegal constituencies, with “No” votes  returned in both. The official count results are listed below..     Donegal North East Turnout 29.2% Electorate: 58,032 Total Poll: 16,792 Spoiled Votes: 212 Total Valid Poll: 16,760 Yes: 8,097 (48.31%) No: 8,663 (51.68%)   Donegal South West

Derry Sinn Fein Councillor Tony Hassan has said that the people who defaced a Presbyterian Church in Ballyarnett do not represent the views of local people, and have only brought disgrace upon the local community. Councillor Hassan said those who wrote sectarian and other graffiti on the walls of the Ballyarnett Church are vandals who

There was a security presence around Bundoran and Ballyshannon today for the funeral of veteran republican and former Bundoran Town Councillor Joe O’Neill. Joe O’Neill was one of the founder members of Republican Sinn Fein in 1986 after a split when the policy of abstentionism from the Dail was dropped at Sinn Fein’s 1986 Ard

The referendum on the establishment of a new Court of Appeal to hear cases referred by the High Court was passed in both Donegal constituencies. Donegal North East returned the narrowest margin in the country with a yes vote of just over 56%. Donegal South West matched the national trend exactly, with 65% of the

  2pm – Donegal NE says ‘No’ The counting of votes in the referendum on the abolition of the Seanad has finished in Donegal North East, with a No vote being returned by a nargin og 51.7% to 48.3%. The official figures are – Donegal North East Result Seanad Referendum Electorate: 58,032 Total Poll: 16,792

The numbers of those signing on the live register in Donegal have fallen by 624 over the course of the last year according to the latest statistics from the CSO. In September, there were 20,064 signing on the county. The numbers signing in the Finn Valley increased by 108 people to 2,717. There was a

The counting of votes cast in yesterday’s two referendums is underway. One referendum was on the abolition of the Seanad, the other was on the establishment of a Court of Appeal. In Donegal North East, early indications are that it could be very close in both referendums. In the Inishowen area, two out of the

A host of senior politicians and celebrity guests were in attendance in Buncrana today for the opening of Donegal’s Amazing Grace viewing point. Having come ashore at Lough Swilly John Newton went on to pen one of the most famous and well-loved songs of all time – “Amazing Grace” and to mentor William Wilberforce in

Everton Star Seamie Coleman has been added to the Heroes and Legends event being hosted by Shay Given and Packie Bonner this weekend as part of The Gathering. On Sunday the pair host a Golf Day at Ballybofey and Stranorlar Golf Club ahead of a dinner evening in the Villa Rose Hotel that night. There

A Buncrana Town Cllr has said that parents in Inishowen are keeping their children indoors in the wake of an incident were two children were approached by a man. Two schoolchildren, one in Bridgend and the other in Buncrana, were approached by a man in a blue or silver-coloured car on Monday. Yesterday Gardai made

The finance minister has insisted that keeping the special VAT rate for tourism would cost hundreds of millions. Michael Noonan says it will cost 360 million euro a year to keep the 9 per cent rate, which expires in December. Mr Noonan’s government colleagues and members of opposition parties have been lobbying to keep the

A Donegal County Cllr has said that the introduction of CCTV on the border would curb cross-border crime. In the past year there have been a spate of cross border robberies. Cllr Michael McBride says since the peace process, it has become easier to cross the border, and he claims, this has resulted in an increase

Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle says there may be some hope that the Community Welfare Officer services in rural areas could be returned after the minister responsible said the situation is under review. The Welfare Officer services in over a dozen rural areas across Donegal have been withdrawn with the public now being told they must

Shay Given will be the special guest tomorrow when the Donegal Youth Council officially launches its SPARKS Mental Health Roadshows. The initiative will reach over 1,000 young people on roadshows to be held in Letterkenny, Stranorlar, Gweedore, Buncrana and Donegal Town over the course of October and November. The events will be addressed by a

The Chairman of Labour in Donegal has said that he is considering his position with the party. Earlier this week Cllr Frank McBrearty left the party, while an Irish Times opinion poll said support for the party had fallen to an all-time low. And it was also announced yesterday that Mary Harte, wife of Senator