Author name: oisinkelly

The Department of Social Protection says its confident a social welfare payment error won’t be repeated. Almost 33 thousand people did not receive their allowances today – due to a processing issue. The payments – which include maternity benefit and jobseekers allowance – will be made by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. Sean Reilly from the […]

The jury is out in a defamation action brought by a Donegal man who previously sued a midwife for interrupting him filming the birth of his first daughter. Dubai based property broker John McCauley claim he was defamed by an article that appeared in the Sunday Times in March 2009, after he lost the court

The Minister responsible for planning says she’ll have to organise a second inquiry into irregular planning decisions. Jan O’Sullivan said a new inquiry team would be appointed in the coming weeks. Last month, the Department of the Environment agreed to a High Court order overturning its own findings of no evidence of wrongdoing in the

The families of the eight Inishowen men killed in a road traffic collision three years ago have been told by a judge the case will be made a priority. The case against 24-year-old Sean Kelly, who is charged in relation to the crash in which eight men lost their lives, has been adjourned on a

Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh will lead the government’s charge in the north and west for the Abolition of the Seanad. The former Senator has been appointed the North/West Director for the Seanad Abolition Referendum On his appointement, Deputy McHugh described the Seanad as ‘shockingly undemocratic’ with just 1% of the population voting to elect the

Foyle assembly member Mark H Durkan is to replace his SDLP colleague Alex Attwood as environment minister. Mr Durkan was elected to the assembly in 2011 and had been the party’s social development spokesperson. Speaking to Highland Radio News monents after he was informed of the news,Minister Durkan said it was a very proud day:

It has emerged that thieves who targeted a car at Leck Graveyard on Sunday escaped with hundreds of euro in cash. There has been strong condemnation of thieves who broke into two cars at different graveyards in Letterkenny at the weekend. The first incident took place at Leck Graveyard on Sunday as two ladies were

The Mayor of Letterkenny is hitting out at news that the HSE may be forced to cancel plans to hire 477 new mental health staff – because of overspending in the health sector. Junior Mnister Kathleen Lynch had announced that 35 million euro would be set aside to recruit in areas such as community services

Homebase has gone into examinership. The company has 15 shops in Ireland, including a store in Letterkenny and employs over 550 staff. The home improvement store says the purpose of the examinership is to re-structure and to put the business on a sustainable footing. Homebase has suffered a one third reduction in sales since 2009.

Omagh bomb suspect Seamus McKenna has died after falling from scaffolding last week. McKenna was working as a labourer on a building site in Kilcurry near Dundalk, Co Louth, when he was injured in the accident last week. The 58-year-old was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he died on Sunday. McKenna, who was

The EU Fisheries Commissioner is promising to move on imposing sanctions on Iceland and the Faroes for overfishing of mackerel. Commissioner Maria Damanaki said last night mackerel stocks could be destroyed by the unilateral setting of quotas by Iceland and action will be taken within the next month. Marine Minister Simon Coveney described the Icelandic

The Government has awarded funding for a major refurbishment project to go ahead at St Eunan’s College. This is in addition to last month’s announcement that grant for its prefabs to be replaced with permanent accomodation. The latest grant will allow for major refurbishment to a section of the school to allow for new accommodation

Letterkenny Sinn Fein Councillor Gerry Mc Monagle has described the thieves who robbed two cars at different graveyards in Letterkenny at the weekend as the lowest of the low and heartless. Cllr Mc Monagle was speaking after being informed by one of the victims of the robbery on Sunday. The first robbery took place at

A Donegal chiropractor will be sentenced next week for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and then dragging her back into the house and assaulting her. Helen McEvily (33) was at home after a night out when Kevin Ginty (46) climbed in through her sitting room window. She managed to leave the house and call the

Bus Eireann has confirmed that its route between Letterkenny and Dublin will be fully wheelchair accessible by the end of 2013. It is after the issue was raised at Letterkenny Town Council’s meeting last week by Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh. It was argued that in the absence of a rail service, the route was widely used

Buncrana’s Mayor has appealed to beachgoers to take their rubbish home. Councill Peter McLaughlin also wants stricter enforcement of littering laws after broken bottles and other rubbish was left strewn over beaches in Lisfannon and Buncrana. Mayor McLaughlin says the mess that is left is an eyesore and makes the beaches unsafe for users:

Police in Tyrone are appealing for information after a hotel was robbed by an armed gang. Three men, one armed with what’s believed to have been a shotgun entered the Mellon Country Hotel between Omagh and Newtownstewart at around 5 o’clock yesterday morning. They ordered a member of staff to hand over cash before making

The Norths Environment Minister, Alex Attwood has announced £200K in funding to revamp derelict buildings in Strabane. In total fifteen Northern Ireland councils will £1.5m from the Department of Environment to tackle decay and dereliction in their areas. Earlier this year similar funding was announced in February, but Strabanes application was deemed unsuccessful. SDLP Cllr

It’s emerged that a stretch of ‘live’ telephone cable has been removed from poles between Manorcunningham and Newtowncunningham. The wire has been removed at Drumbarnett, close to Colm Dillon’s car showroom, and a number of homes and businesses have had their services affected as a result. Eircom crews are due in the area shortly to

The number of people seeking the help of free legal advice centres in Donegal fell by over 40% last year according to figures published this morning by the legal rights group FLAC. The centre in Letterkenny and Gweedore dealt with 41 calls in 2012, compared to 70 the previous year, a drop of 41.4%. That’s

The first meeting of the Donegal Education and Training Board takes place this afternoon. The body replaces the County Donegal VEC, one of only three in the country not to be involved in a merger of two or more Vocational Education Committees. This afternoon will see the confirmation of outgoing VEC CEO Shaun Purcell as

The Bundoran lifeboat last night responded to what’s been described as a ‘false alarm with good intent’. Just after 9.50pm the crew were tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard to a kayaker reported to be in difficulty off St John’s Point.  Within 4 minutes the Bundoran lifeboat had launched and made its way across Donegal

23 police officers and an MP have been hurt in violence in North Belfast. North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds was taken to hospital after he was hit by a brick when violence broke out during the annual 12th of July parades. It was sparked by loyalist anger over Orange Bands not being allowed to pass

A Letterkenny Town Councillor wants the local authority to secure funding a new home for the youth of the town. Councillor Jim Lynch says the Council already pays rent for the Donegal Youth Service, while the Letterkenny Youth Club is without a base and has very little funding. He acknowledges that a major capital project

  The HSE has rejected the Let Me, Be Me Campaign’s Threshold of Decency Statement. The statement called for the retention of St Agnes’ Special Needs Pre-School, Donegal Town and a  commitment to retain Ballaghderg Special Needs Pre-School, Letterkenny beyond 2015. A number of other measures were proposed. In a statement to Highland Radio this

The Central Library Letterkenny will be closed until further notice The closure is due to water damage. Donegal County Council has  apologise for the unexpected closure. They remind library members that they can renew their loans online, check their account and request/reserve items online at www.donegallibrary.ie

The environment minister says he wants county and city councils to start building more local authority housing. Phil Hogan says councils stopped building homes in the Celtic Tiger years, handing responsibility to private builders. But he says the current waiting lists for council housing are too long – and the government is spending too much

Police say they are becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of a Drumquin woman who may have been last seen in County Donegal. Lisa McGowan left her home in the early hours of Tuesday morning, it is believed she is travelling on foot. Lisa is 6 foot tall, is of small to medium build with

It’s been confirmed today that the creche is Gweedore has been saved from closure. At least 30 children are cared for at the Gweedore Community Creche. The facilty had been threatened with closure earlier this year. But funding has now been found to keep it opened, and Local Community worker Micheál Mac Giolla Easbuig says

The home of an elderly couple in Kilross just outside Ballybofey has become the latest target of a robbery in the county. An elderly couples home on the busy Kilross junction was targeted in the early hours of yesterday morning. A number of men entered their home at around 130am and demanded money. They made

A walking tourist has been rescued from Slieve League after getting into difficulty yesterday evening. The woman, from American, was walking with a friend when they got lost. One of the woman managed to make her way down and raise the alarm. In the meantime, her friend  found herself positioned in a dangerous situation in

More than 30,000 people are expected to descend on Derry today for the Orange Order’s flagship 12th of July demonstration. The Derry march is one of 18 taking part across the north and marks the end of a series of free cultural events held in the city as part of the City of Culture celebrations.

The man staging a hunger strike outside the Dáil is reported to have ended his protest. Last night, Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty announced on Twitter that Tony Rochford from Co Meath had called a halt to his fight against the property tax, after 25 days without food. Earlier this week the Taoiseach Enda

Donegal County Council and the Donegal County Heritage Forum have joined with The Heritage Council to find out more about what Donegal people took with them when they emigrated to various parts of the World throughout the centuries. It’s planned to produce a booklet that includes accounts of emigrant experiences. It follows the recent revelation

Derry’s District Judge Barney McElholm has said that the British and Irish governments must tackle the problem of people holding driving licences in both jurisdictions. His comments came after it emerged in court that a woman caught speeding last year was disqualified from driving in the North, but had a valid licence from the republic.

Inishowen Cllr Jack Murray has requested an urgent meeting with Chief Superintendent Teri McGinn after an armed robbery in An Grianan Hotel, Burt in the early hours of yesterday morning. Cllr Murray said he will use the opportunity to call for more Garda resources in border areas. He says border communities cannot continue to be

Strabane District Council’s top official has described the decision to relocate Stormont’s agriculture department headquarters to Ballykelly as “wholly unjustified”. Speaking to the Strabane Chronicle Council chief executive Danny McSorley made his remarks in response to a formal consultation on the relocation of DARD’s headquarters. It is almost a year since a leaked memo revealed

Gardai are appealing for information about last an armed robbery at An Grianan Hotel in Burt in the earkly hours of this morning.. Three men entered the premises at quarter to three, at least one was armed with a shotgun. They escaped with a sum of money. Local Superintendent Andy Archbold is leading the investigation,

Listening to your local radio station on the move is about to get much easier! In the coming weeks Highland Radio will be releasing its brand new mobile application for both Apple and Android devices. At the touch of a button you will be able to listen live to what people are talking about on

The Government has approved funding for the construction of  four wastewater treatment plants form the Donegal Group B Sewerage Scheme. Under the contract new wastewater treatment plants will be provided in Bundoran and Glencolmcille and the plants in Killybegs and Convoy will be upgraded. The news has been welcomed by Minister Dinny McGinley who says

A man suing the Sunday Times for defamation over an opinion piece about him filming the birth of his baby daughter says he does not accept it was an emergency delivery. Dubai based property broker John McCauley, originally from Donegal but now wth an  address in Co Kildare claims the column by journalist Brenda Power

A Government report is to recommend that cyberbullying be made a criminal offence following a number of teenage suicides in Donegal thought to be linked to the problem. It will also propose new laws to compel all schools to introduce disciplinary codes to tackle the misuse of social media. As part of the proposals social

The hopes of full citizenship for over 50-thousand undocumented Irish in the United States received a significant boost last night. Republicans in the House of Representatives held a meeting during which they agreed to their own version of an immigration reform bill. It follows the approval of a Bill by the US Senate – and

Donegal Creameries has been granted permission to change its name to Donegal Investment Group plc. The Registrar of Companies made the decision following the passing of a resolution relating to a name change proposed to shareholders at a company EGM earlier this month The switch becomes effective for trading on the ESM of the Irish

One of Lettekenny’s best known hotels has been put on the market with a guide price of 900,000 euro. The Letterkenny Court Hotel is being sold on the instructions of David Carson of Deloitte, receiver and manager Pemberley Catering Limited The hotel has 57 en suite guest bedrooms and 26 apartments as well as a

The public is being asked to help find a 44 year-old woman who is missing from the Drumquinn area of County Tyrone. Lisa McGowan was last seen at her home in the Drumquin area on Monday at 10.30pm. Lisa is described as being 6 foot tall , slim to medium build with auburn short to

A Donegal North East Deputy TD says a massive government cut in the Housing Adaptation Grant is having a severe impact on people with disabilities. According to Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue, Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan is funding a €10 million programme to build new houses for disabled people by slashing the grants to adapt existing