Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal County Council last year recorded its first reduction in income for almost a decade. An increase in payroll and the writing off of over 6 million euro in business rates are some of key factors for the loss of income. The was also a reduction in income from water charges, which has been blamed

A Strabane SDLP Cllr has said that the decentralisation of 40 jobs to Strabane is nothing more than a “token gesture”. It was announced yesterday that 40 civil service jobs would be relocated to Strabane within the next 18 months. Strabane Cllr Patsy Kelly says while he welcomes the 40 jobs, he feels it is

The Stormont executive is being urged to redistribute money earmarked for the stalled A5 on other roads projects. The call comes as Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy prepares to put spending proposals to his ministerial colleagues. The A5 has been delayed by a successful court action, but this year was due to have received £120m

The INMO wants an independent expert to chair the review and then establish a guide for best practice and standards in the area. Over 350 nurses and midwives are attending the three-day conference which begins today in Letterkenny, County Donegal. General Secretary Liam Doran says Ireland urgently needs to lay down minimum standards for best

Fianna Fáil is calling for the establishment of a dedicated unit within the Department of Agriculture to co-ordinate the response to the fodder crisis. Donegal Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue was one of the members who moved the motion last night, arguing that the government’s response was not fast enough, and more has been done by

A registered sex offender, who had been living in Donegal, has handed himself into the police. 29 year-old Joseph McCabe was reported missing from an address in Belfast last month and had broken rules attached to his release from prison. He had been staying in Burtonport and more latterly at an address in Dungloe. The

The Xtra-vision store in Letterkenny is to remain open. It  was confirmed on Tuesday that 20 Xtra-vision stores are to close on the island of Ireland – nine in the Republic and 11 in Northern Ireland. Up to 54 jobs are to be lost in the Republic of Ireland. Those affected will be given the

The North’s Agriculture and Rural Development has announced a “DARD Direct” Office for Strabane. DARD Minister Michelle O’Neill says she has asked officials to consider the options for locating an office in Strabane within the next 18 months to two years. Minister O’Neill says the Strabane office will be a significant one, housing approximately 40

Donegal County Council is this afternoon honouring the Lord Provost of Glasgow. Cllr. Sadie Docherty, whose family roots are in West Donegal,  is being honoured with a Civic Reception at County House in Lifford this afternoon. She is only the fourth woman to hold the position of Lord Provost of Glasgow since the year 1450.

CSO figures published today show that when it comes to cars being licensed for the first time, nearly twice as many imported second hand cars as new cars were registered in Donegal last month. The figures are broadly in line with last year, with 302 imported second hand cars licensed in April, compared to 171

It’s feared that up to seven respite beds may be under threat at Dungloe District Hospital. Local Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher says she’s received numerous calls from staff and patients’ families, and she’s made contact today with senior HSE management in a bid to get clarification of the situation. Cllr Gallagher says two years ago

Today is the deadline for receipt of Property Tax returns by post. Householders who have not already sent their completed applications – have three more weeks to register online. People who do not file by May 28th – will have the Revenue Commissioners estimate deducted from their salary, bank account or social welfare payments. Cant

Letterkenny is gearing up to host the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) 94th Annual Delegate Conference tomorrow. The three day event – which centres on the theme of ‘Protecting the Frontline,’ referring to both the protection of standards and the protection of those who provide care – will see the Minister for Health, James

The man killed in a crash between a car and a bus in the Barnesmore Gap has been named locally as Maximo Domens. Mr Domens, who is in his late 50s, was the driver of a car which was in collision with a bus carrying around 20 people at 8.30 on Tuesday morning. 5 people who

The final notes sounded today on the 12th City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, bringing to a close what has been described as  the biggest and best musical extravaganza to date. Over 35,000 music lovers took to the streets in pursuit of the perfect medley of music on the Guinness Jazz Trail, which

New research commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that the air in Letterkenny is not meeting minimum legal limits. The EPA’s interim results, obtained by the Irish Independent, show  that the poor air quality in the town is putting thousands of people at risk of respiratory disease. People with respiratory conditions like asthma can be badly affected by

A 20 year old man has been arrested in the Derry area in connection with a petrol bombing incident in the Ben Varden Avenue area on the evening of Friday evening which left a 45 year old man seriously injured. Two males aged 24 & 25, and a female aged 44 have previously been arrested. All four remain

Tenants must be protected if the home they’re renting is repossessed. That’s the message from Sinn Féin who claim that the new Land and Conveyancing Bill will lead to a significant number of repossessions of buy-to-let properties, putting renters in danger of homelessness. During the boom, banks issued over 150,000 buy-to-let mortgages – today more

Detectives in Derry are appealing for information following a man being seriously injured in the Ben Varden Avenue area on the evening of Friday 3 May. At approximately 11.10pm, it is believed that two male youths smashed a window of a house and threw a lit petrol bomb into it. The petrol bomb struck a

Tom Curran, the Partner of Marie Flemming,  has read out an emotional statement on her behalf during an appearance on Friday night’s Late Late Show. Last week Marie Fleming, who is originally from Lifford,lost her Supreme Court challenge to the ban on assisted suicide. The 59 year old is terminally ill with multiple sclerosis. Her

The futures of 400 post offices around the country could be under threat, if the Department of Social Protection goes ahead with a plan to distribute social welfare payments electronically. That’s the view of the Irish Postmasters Union, which is holding it’s annual conference in Killiney in Dublin today. General Secretary of the IPU, Brian

Connacht Gold says seventeen loads of imported hay and haylage are being delivered to Connacht Gold stores in the west and north west today. It comes as farmers continue to struggle due to the current animal feed crisis. Connacht Gold says supplies will be available from today in Killygordon, Ardara, Lifford and Kerrykeel with more

A video placed on YouTube by two men who objected to a garda search for drugs was played before a judge in court yesterday. The two men, John Deegan and Sean Fitzgerald, claimed it showed garda intimidation before their arrests in a van at the Market Yard, Ballyshannon. The video, called Gardathugs on YouTube, was

A new wildfire warning has been issued for Donegal despite the wet weather. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine advised that extreme or high forest fire risk conditions exist at present. These conditions are expected to continue over the weekend. Poor growth so far this year means that ground vegetation can dry out

Gardai are appealing for witnesses to a single vehicle traffic collision close do Gweedore yesterday afternoon in which a man was seriously injured. At around 2.30pm a van collided with a ditch on the  N56 at Meenaciung. The man aged in his 40s was seriously injured, he was taken by ambulance to Letterkenny Hospital for

The Health Minister in the North Edwin Poots has reversed a decision to close residential care homes in Derry and Strabane. He has told representatives of all the Northern Ireland health trusts to drop their current closure policy. He has withdrawn all power from the trusts in implementing the policy and said that the process

Randox in Dungloe have announced today that they are to increase their workforce significantly over the next couple of years. Randox currently employs 42 people at its facility, but that will increase to 130 by 2015. In September 2011 they announced details of a 1m euro investment which involved the purchase of the Dungloe facility

Brian Shivers has been found not guilty of the Real IRA murder of two soldiers in 2009. He was acquitted in at Belfast Crown Court of murdering two British soldiers at Massereene barracks this afternoon. Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, were shot at Massereene army base, Antrim, on

There’s some hope for the future of creche provision in Gweedore after parents met with senior figures in Udaras na Gaeltachta today. At least 30 children are cared for at the Gweedore Community Creche, which will close on Friday fortnight if it isn’t taken over. Today, and Udaras board meeting has been taking place in

The number signing on the Live Register in Donegal fell by 2.5% last month, but remains above 20,000. There were 20,335 signing on at the end of April, 527 down on the March figure, and 512 down on April 2012. The office in Donegal Town was the only one to register a year on year

The next mayor of Derry will be SDLP councillor Martin Reilly. Mr Reilly was chosen as his party’s nominee in the City Hotel this week. The SDLP are the party next in line to hold the office of mayor. He will replace current Sinn Fein mayor Kevin Campbell in June. Mr Reilly, said he’s “delighted”

A Donegal councillor has accused Alan Shatter of acting like the Minister for Criminals rather than the Minister for Justice. It follows a speech at the Irish Prison Officers Association conference this week, during which the minister said that last year, 88% of those who were jailed were sentenced to one year or less, and

The High Court has extended the period of examinership which is protecting the Creeslough supermarket, filling station and pub owned by Danny Lafferty. The Irish Times reports this morning that Mr Justice Peter Kelly expressed concern at the length of time the examinership was taking, but added he is aware there were “25 jobs at

An anti-rubbish campaign has found that the amount of chewing gum littering our streets has been cut by almost a third. It found there was a 28 per cent drop in gum litter last year. And in the wake of the report a Gum Litter Taskforce is being launched in Letterkenny this weekend, it’s being

Gardaí in Donegal are calling on motorists to drive safely over the Bank Holiday weekend. So far two people have been killed on Donegal roads so far this year, that’s a 50% increase on the same period last year. Nationally, 13 more people lost their lives on Irish roads in the first four months of

All 19 bathing areas in Donegal tested by the EPA last year have been passed as safe to swim in. The 19 bathing areas tested in Donegal last year were Ballyhiernan in Fanad, Bundoran, Carrickfinn, Culdaff, Downings, Drumnatinny, Fintra, Killahoey, Lady’s Bay in Buncrana, Lisfannon, Marble Hill, Murvagh, Narin, Portarthur in Derrybeg, Portnablagh, Portsalon, Rathmullan

A 61-year-old man has been found NOT GUILTY of dangerous driving causing the death of a three-year-old boy. Alex McDaid of Bomany, Letterkenny had denied a charge of dangerous driving causing death, but he had admitted not having a valid driving licence at the time. The jury of six men and six women at Letterkenny

The Manager of the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre in Letterkenny is warning that services may have to be cut further because of funding pressures. The centre is facing a series of cuts in funding from Government – already one member of staff has been lost with fears that further staff hours may

The Carlton Hotel in Belleek has been the target of a suspected overnight arson attack. The local fire service responded to the scene and were able to minimise damage to the premises. A night porter was rescued from an upstairs room by firefighters. The hotel was recently purchased by new owners and is undergoing renevations.

There has been a surge in the number of households paying the household charge in Donegal over the last number of weeks according to Donegal County Council. The local authority says it now expects to exceed the 65% compliance rate this week. Those who oppose the tax are likely to again question the level of