Author name: oisinkelly

Schools will be required to keep a record of incidents of bullying under a new anti-bullying plan being launched by the Education Minister today. The plan aims to stamp out cyber and homophobic bullying with a 12 step programme which includes the establishment of an anti bullying website, and special training for teachers and parents. […]

Donegal Councillor John Campbell claims the government and the council are underestimating the number of houses in the county which should be registering their septic tanks. Two weeks ago, the Department of the Environment published figures showing just over just over 10,471 tanks were registered in Donegal, just over 30% of the total. Based on

The Sinn Fein Justice Spokesperson is accusing his Fianna Fail counterpart of displaying “breathtaking hypocrisy”. Donegal North East Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn was speaking ahead of a Fianna Fail motion calling on the Minister for Justice to reverse the decision to shut down almost 100 garda stations this week, five of them in Donegal. Fianna

The threat of legal action remains against Donegal County Council over a decision to purchase a house in a rural area of Ballyshannon for a Traveller family. At this week’s monthly meeting of the council, councillor Barry O’Neill said the decision goes against national policy and the Donegal County Development Plan. That was a claim

Two more men have been arrested in Omagh as investigations continue into the death of Monaghan teenager Jason Mc Govern on December 30th last. The 19 year old was found dead in a friend’s house on New Years Eve, having been attacked twice in Omagh the previous night. Five people have already been charged with

Donegal County Council has backed calls for the tourism minister to better support Knock airport. While Knock Airport will cease to receive state funding from next year, the government has announced a significant package for Shannon Airport. Knock Airport management say this is unfair and are considering a legal challenge. Councillor Sean McEniff says Knock

The Dáil will today debate a Fianna Fail motion calling on the Minister for Justice to reverse the decision to shut down almost 100 garda stations this week. Five stations are closing in Donegal – Annagry, Brockagh, Churchhill, Glencolmcille and Malin. Fianna Fail is also putting pressure on Minister Alan Shatter to re-open the Garda

Donegal county council has committed to not increasing rents in 2013. The 2013 budget meeting was dominated by a council executive proposal to increase rents by 2 euro per month. While that proposal was eventually withdrawn it doesn’t mean a rent increase of some level could be introduced. Councillor Cora Harvey has now been assured

A Government Deputy has said that a special case should be made for Donegal in relation to a recent spate of burglaries. Fine Gael Deputy Joe McHugh met with Chief Superintendent Terry Mc Ginn to discuss the issue of burglaries yesterday. Recently on Highland Radio the Justice Minister Alan Shatter said that Donegal was not

The Chairperson of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal says the practice of political parties meeting with senior gardai is undermining the committee’s work. In recent months Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail have met with senior officers, and this afternoon, Fine Gael has been meeting with Chief Superintendent Terry Mc Ginn. However, Fianna Fail Cllr

The North’s Police Ombudsman’s office has reopened its investigation into the shooting dead of Donegal Councillor Eddie Fullerton in 1991, but his family say they still have no faith in the garda investigation in the republic. Cllr Fullerton was killed in his Buncrana home by the UDA, with allegations of RUC collusion. Eddie Fullerton’s daughter

Three vans belonging to a Derry maintainance company have been burned out in what’s being linked to a threat against workers involved in removing grafitti from the City Walls. Two of the vans were attacked on Saturday, the other last night. In a statement, Derry chamber condemns what it terms attacks on a highly respected

April 21st has been set as the date when Derry Diocesan Administrator Monsignor Eamon Martin will be ordained as Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh. The ceremony will take place in St Patrick’s Cathedral at 3 o’clock. Mons. Martin will replace Cardinal Sean Brady when he retires within the next two years.

Fine Gael will meet with Chief Superintendent Terry Mc Ginn today to discuss policing in Donegal, and in particular how the force locally is being resourced. The deputation is being led by Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh, who says he wants to being back a comprehensive and accurate picture to the Justice Minister.

A North West MEP says the EU should invest extra structural funds of 345 million euro in the BMW region to reflect the extent to which the region has been hit by the economic downturn. Pat The Cope Gallagher says unless there is a change in the way funds are administered, the region will see

Two parades have been taking place in Derry today. On the Waterside, around 800 people took part in a loyalist parade in support of the Belfast Flag Campaign which ended in a rally addressed by a number of people including Willie Frazer. There were no incidents. Meanwhile the annual Bloody Sunday Commemoration has been taking

Donegal County Council is to discuss a Sinn Fein motion calling on the government to scrap plans for water charges, and concentrate instead on improving conservation and upgrading the water supply system. At today’s council meeting in Lifford, Cllr Mick Quinn will argue that the Water Services Bill published this month will charge people for

A viable bomb has been found close to the home of a serving police officer in County Tyrone. The device was found in the Coolnagard area yesterday afternoon. Follow-up searches were taking place following an incident in which an off-duty police officer fired a number of shots. No-one was injured in the incident, which is

An Anti-drugs campaigner has said he has serious concerns over the future of the Drugs Unit in Donegal PJ Blake has called on the Justice Minister to reassure the public that the Donegal Drugs Unit will not suffer the same fate as the Cavan-Monaghan Unit which has been axed. He says recent drugs seizures in

The PSNI has released the details of traffic disruptions to be expected in Derry tomorrow. Major distuption is expected as a flag protest is held on the Waterside at the same time as the annual Bloody Sunday Commemoration Parade on the Cityside. There has been strong opposition to plans to hold a parade in protest

The Mayor of Donegal Cllr Frank McBrearty Jnr says he is giving  his full support to Raphoe FC and their efforts to have a home of their own. It’s after a Council decision to approve planning permission for the Raphoe Town Football Club to build a new Football pitch, clubhouse and car park was appealed

A Chinese take-away boss has been arrested on suspicion of growing €240,000 worth of cannabis plants. The 70-year-old, well-known in South Donegal and who has been 40 years in Ireland, was arrested with a 52-year-old China native in a car south of Barnesmore Gap. They are being quizzed at Ballyshannon Garda station. Following the arrests

Almost €19 million has been allocated to local and regional road improvements in Donegal by the National Roads Authority for 2013. The bulk of the money will go towards necessary improvements and restoration work agreed by the council. The allocation is slightly down on last year, Donegal County Council received 21 and a half million in 2012.

The head of Failte Ireland has rejected claims from a Letterkenny hotelier that not enough is being done to promote The Gathering at a national level. Terry Mc Eniff, a former Mayor of the town who has also been closely involved with Letterkenny Tourism, told Highland Radio’s Shaun Doherty Show yesterday that while there’s a

A man has died after a car crash near Claudy in County Derry. It happened at 735am yesterday morning when a blue Daihatsu car, hit a wall on Glenone Road. A man, aged in his 60s, died in hospital a while later.

Concern is being expressed in Derry at confirmation that Bank of Ireland plans to close its branches at Shipquay Street and Spencer Road, and centralise Derry business at the Strand Road branch. Sinn Fein MLA Maeve Mc Laughlin says there’s been no discussions with public representitives, and while the bank has promised that all staff

A Donegal County Council decision to approve planning permission for the Raphoe Town Football Club to build a new Football pitch, clubhouse and car park has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala. In January, conditional permission was granted for the development to be located at Drumineney, Raphoe but the development is now under doubt. Ciaran Neary, who

An appeal has been launched by the Donegal County museum to track down two historical items which have gone missing It is 2009 since a 10th centuary stone cross slab was last seen at Moville Parish Church while in December a memorial dedicated to Captain James Douglas Caussen MacNeese was stolen from the old Church of Ireland

Up to 70 people turned out for a Cant Pay Wont Pay public meeting on septic tanks in Gweedore last night. The meeting was addressed Donegal South-West Deputy Thomas Pringle and Cllr John Campbell in Dore Community Centre. The meeting is one of a number of meetings the Cant Pay Wont Pay group are holding

Plans to develop a hydro-electic power station on one of Inishowen’s major rivers have been given the go ahead by An Board Pleanala. It is after the decision last year by Buncrana Town Council to award permission was appealed by two parties including The Mill Anglers Association. The decision to allow the development go ahead

Click here to view photos from Highland’s January Night of the Stars Concert

Strabane District Council has received reports that two men in the Drumquin Area have been knocking on residents doors saying that they represent Strabane District Council. The men the offer to remove any bulky waste items for a charge. Strabane District Council has pointed out  that no Council employees are tasked with sourcing bulky waste

North West Tourism says it is optimistic of a strong year for tourism in Donegal through The Gathering, Derry’s year as City of Culture and the strong promotion of other attractions in the county. Failte Ireland is painting an upbeat picture at its annual tourism industry briefing for the North West Region in Bundoran today.

The Donegal Travellers project has confirmed it has now lodged a complaint with gardai over a councillor’s recent comments and a second complaint will be lodged against a another councillor in the coming days. The complaint has been made under incitement to hatred against Councillor Sean McEniff. He objected to the council’s preparations to give

Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle is asking the government for evidence that the impact on jobs was assessed when it was decided that public service bodies such as schools are to now purchase supplies from centralised companies through public procurement. Last evening, Junior Minister Brian Hayes told the Dail that a centralised procurement system

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will discuss the impact of the union flags protests on the Belfast economy. The Committee will hear from independent traders spokesman Glyn Roberts. Committee chairman Joe McHugh TD said they were “extremely concerned over the past two months at violent protests”. He said

The County Donegal VEC hosts its annual Adult Learner Fair in Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel tomorrow, with large crowds expected. Over 60 exhibitors will be present showcasing a range of education opportunities, as well as the supports available, but for many, the centrepiece of tomorrow’s event will be a speech by Donegal manager Jim Mc

There was a 29% drop in the number of new buildings completed in Donegal last year according to GeoDirectory, a joint initiative of An Post and the Ordnance Survey. That’s in contrast to the country as a whole, which saw a slight rise in new builds. The total number of new residential and commercial buildings recorded in

A youth has appeared in court today in relation to an incident at Bridgend on Sunday. He is the third person to appear in court in connection with the attempted theft of copper wire from an Eircom yard in Bridgend. Earlier this week two juveniles from Derry were remanded to appear at Buncrana District Court

The Joint Policing Committee in Buncrana has been told that there’s been an increase in the number of people contacting gardai to report suspicious activity following recent aggravated burglaries in Inishowen, and elsewhere in Donegal. Yesterday morning, up to nine calls were received about suspicious activity. Inspector David Murphy told a meeting of the committee

The Irish Cancer Society has announced that it is to launch a new Daffodil Centre in Letterkenny General Hospital within the coming weeks. The new Daffodil  Centre marks a major investment by the Society in Donegal with an initial set up cost of €125,000 in the centre plus running cost of at least €80,000 anticipated

Donegal’s Carl Mc Hugh played his part as Bradford knocked Aston Villa out of the league cup to reach Wembley for next months Final. Villa won last nights semi final second leg 2-1 but they lost 4-3 on aggregate. That means the league two side are the first side from the fourth tier in English

Northern Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development has admitted that Strabane lost out on 800 civil service jobs without a business plan for the move being considered. It was announced last September that 800 civil service jobs would be moving from Belfast to Ballykelly at the site of the former Shackleton Army Barracks. But in

Can’t Pay Won’y Pay are to hold a public meeting this week to advise rural home-owners not to register their septic tanks before the 1st of February. Donegal South-West Deputy, Thomas Pringle and Cllr John Campbell will address the meeting tomorrow evening in Dore Community Centre at 730pm. The meeting will coincide with public meetings that Fianna

A former Chairperson of Udaras na Gaeltachta says the garda station at Glencolmcille should be left open for at least six months of the year. The station is one of five in the county due to close on the 31st of this month, but Liam O’Cuinnegain, the head of Oideas Gael says there is a

A Donegal Councillor says doctors who recommend home help for their patients should be consulted before any decision is taken to withdraw the service. Cllr Ian Mc Garvey says he is becoming increasingly concerned at the number of cases he is dealing with in which hours are being withdrawn from people at a time when,