Author name: oisinkelly

Corncrake should not be put ahead of people – Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill

The Government has been accused of putting the Corncrake before people. Parts of Malin, Fanad, Falcarragh and five of the county’s islands are now special protection areas. This means there are strict controls on planning and farming to protect the Corncrake. Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill says that with a stroke of a pen acres of land

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Fine Gael ‘Thatcherites’ fail to block anti property tax council motion

Donegal County Council has backed a motion calling on the Fine Gael / Labour Government to repeal the Property Tax. During a debate on a Sinn Fein motion, Fine Gael accused Sinn Fein of being populist while Fine Gael were accused of keeping the spirit of Margaret Thatcher alive. Notably, Labour Mayor Frank McBrearty broke

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Cllr Gallagher calls for public contracts to be given to local services

Donegal County Council has again been urged to include a clause which would see all future public contracts awarded to include 10% of local goods and services. Previously EU directives have seen major contracts awarded to companies outside the county but Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher says thats not fair. She points to a clause in

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Another victory for William Mc Laughlin in WSB

Donegal middleweight William Mc Laughlin helped Italia Thunder to a 4-1 home victory over the Ukraine Otamans in the first leg of their World Series of Boxing semi-final in Italy on Friday. The Illies Golden Gloves fighter earned a unanimous decision over current Ukrainian champion Ievgenii Barabanov winning four of the five rounds with one judge giving him all five

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Gardai urged to excavate alleged grave as 36 year search for Mary Boyle continues

Gardai are being urged to excavate the site of an alleged grave in South Donegal as part of the search for Mary Boyle who went missing at the age of six, 36 years ago. Mary disappeared from her grandparent’s house in Cashelard, near Ballyshannon in March, 1977 and was never seen again. Three times over

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Uncertainty over future of Colaiste Chineal Eoghain in Buncrana

The Irish language secondary school in Buncrana is facing closure, because not enough new students are enrolling. According to Buncrana Councillor Ciaran Mc Laughlin, Gaelcholaiste Chineal Eoghain needs 25 new first year students each year, but so far, only 17 have been enrolled for the next academic year starting in September. He says the college

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Donegal County Council appeal for vigilance in prevention of fires

Donegal County Council are appealing to land owners and members of the public to continue to be vigilant and to continue to take all necessary measures to prevent gorse, heather, forestry and similar fires. Land owners and members of the public are urged to report any uncontrolled or unattended fires immediately to the Fire Services

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Strabane SDLP claim to be successful with majority of incapacity benefit claims

Sinn Fein are calling on the Strabane SDLP to clarify how they are helping people claiming incapacity benefits. In November 2011 local SDLP constituency representative Daniel McCrossan claimed that their office had been inundated with enquiries relating to welfare assessment questionnaires. He claimed that in the first two weeks of November 2011 the office had

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Half of incapacity benefit applications in Strabane rewarded on appeal

A private contractor which assesses incapacity benefit applications on behalf of the British government is coming under fire in Strabane after it emerged that more than half of the local applications which have been turned down are allowed on appeal. Sinn Fein MLA  Michaela Boyle says it’s clear that ATOS is not working for the

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Gardai investigate vandalism at St Annes Church in Ballyshannon

Gardai are seeking a gang which vandalised one of the north-west’s most recognisable landmarks, St Anne’s Church in Ballyshannon. Co.Donegal. The 172-year-old Church of Ireland building is sited at the town’s highest point and visible to visitors approaching on any road. Spotlights which illuminate the church at night were smashed, and panes of glass in

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Farm Assist changes having a serious impact in Donegal – Mc Conalogue

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie McConalogue has called on Fine Gael and Labour to rethink its changes to the Farm Assist payment. Donegal has the second highest number of farmers dependent on Farm Assist, with 1,554 farmers liable for the payment. Low-income farmers depend on the payment to keep their farms in business. The changes

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Couple from Twin Towns area collects €5 million Lotto jackpot, but chooses to remain anonymous

A married couple from the Twin Towns has collected a cheque for €5,146,800 from National Lottery headquarters in Dublin. The winning numbers from last Saturday night’s draw were contained on a €4 ticket bought at Moore’s Costcutters store in Ballybofey. The couple wants to remain anonymous, but it has been confirmed they do live locally.

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Chief Fire Officer – anyone found guilty of starting wildfires will pay for the cost of fighting them

Donegal’s Acting Chief Fire Officer has appealed to the public to notify gardai if they have any information about the illegal setting of gorse fires. Joe McTaggart suspects that not all of the recent wildfires, which have occurred across the county during the recent dry spell, have been acts of God. Mr McTaggart says that

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SITA Letterkenny software to be implemented at Jamaican airports

Advance passenger information software developed in Letterkenny is to be used in Jamaican aiports. The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency in Jamaica, is using SITA software as part of a security and tourism initiative to improve passenger movement at the airports in Kingston and Montego Bay. There are now 15 countries using the software. Vincent

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HSE issues measles warning to Donegal families travelling to Britain

The HSE is advising families considering visiting Wales and the North East of England to ensure that all family members have been immunised with the MMR vaccine to protect them against Measles. This is of particular importance to families in Donegal –  in February , health care staff in Donegal expressed concern about the increasing

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Buncrana councillors renew calls for closure of Lisfannon halting site

Buncrana Town Council is calling on County Manager Seamus Neeley to close the halting site at Lisfannon as quickly as possible. The facility has been there for some years, and was originally established by former manager Michael Mc Loone under special powers given to managers at the time to address a pressing need for traveller

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Donegal Priest: national policy on school uniforms could ease First Communion financial pressure

A Donegal priest says a nationwide policy of children making their First Communion or Confirmation in school uniforms should be considered. Its after the Government confirmed that grants for religious ceremonies are to be discontinued – more then 12,500 families availed of the grant last year A recent survey by EBS showed that parents expect

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Inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar continues today

The inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar is expected to hear more medical evidence today. The 31 year old died from septicaemia last October following a miscarriage at Galway University Hospital. Many of the key witnesses have already testified, such as Savita’s husband Praveen Halappanavar and her consultant obstetrician Dr Katherine Astbury. Apparent systems

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Donegal Creameries turnover increases – bank debt reduced

Donegal Creameries PLC has released its preliminary financial results for last year with the Board viewing the company’s performance in 2012 as satisfactory. This is the first full reporting year following the strategic disposal of its liquid milk and agri-stores business to Connacht Gold. The company says it delivered a year of consolidation around a

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Donegal VRT campaigner says customs officials are breaking their own guidlines

A Donegal Anti-VRT campaigner says customs officials continue to target people in the county despite an Ombudsman’s ruling which would seem to prohibit them from doing so. Ombudsman Josephine Feehily ruled that Customs’officers must follow their own guidelines before seizing vehicles, and prohibiting them from random challenges such as checkpoints, for the purposes of enforcing

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Deputy Joe McHugh says Good Friday Agreement has done much good for the North

Members of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will meet today to reflect on the past 15 years since the signing of the historical document. The agreement was signed by both British and Irish Governments on the 10th April 1998 and marked a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace

Deputy Joe McHugh says Good Friday Agreement has done much good for the North Read More »