Author name: oisinkelly

The Government has said there will be no reversal of the decision to cut funding of the Reserve Defence Force by half. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter is reducing the size of the Force and cutting its funding by 50 per cent following a value-for-money report. As a result the standalone units of the reserve […]

One of Donegal’s representatives on the HSE West Regional Health Forum says he is not satisfied with a HSE reponse to the case of a Donegal mother who had to drive her son to hospital while a paramedic worked on him in the back of the family car. An ambulance was called out by the

Two men are still being questioned this evening in connection with the murder of a PSNI officer in April of last year. Constable Ronan Kerr was killed when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh, Co. Tyrone. Investigating officers arrested a 39 year old from Omagh this morning – he’s being questioned about incidents

Calls have been made for a footpath and cycle path to be introduced on the road from the Mountain Top in Letterkenny leading to Illistrin National School. There are currently 400 students at the school, with an application in place for extra students. And when a survey was recently circulated on whether or not students

The Cant Pay Wont Pay Campaign in Donegal have confirmed that they have no intentions of running anyone in the next local elections in the County. Last a week representatives from Donegal Action Against Austerity and ‘Cant Pay Wont Pay – Donegal Inclusive’, both said they were considering running candidates. But a spokesperson for Cant

An Inishowen councillor has been hailed a hero after he was involved in the disruption of a robbery and a ‘citizen’s arrest’ of one of the suspects. Councillor Mickey Doherty was alerted to a suspected robbery in Quigley’s Point by a member of the public and travelled to the scene with two other men. They

The Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland says some staff at Altnagelvin hospital are concerned about the safety of the tower block where a fire broke out on Friday night. Three wards on the top floors of the unit are to remain closed after the Western Health Trust said it was difficult to move

Donegal County Council is  calling on the Minister for Finance to introduce measures in Budget 2013 to help people who are struggling with mortgage payments. 83,251 mortgage holders are now three months or more behind on their payments. Another 40,221 mortgage holders have had to have their monthly payments lowered with agreement of their lender,

Donegal County Council are to hold landowners accountable if water comes from their land on to public roads. It was highlighted at today’s County Council meeting the severe damage water running onto roads causes. The Council has now come up with a six point plan to try deal with the problem. Cllr Patrick McGowan says

Over 9,000 German tourists have already been confirmed for Donegal next year as part of an initiative which the White Group has been involved in for some years. Eamonn Gillespie, manager of the Central Hotel in Donegal says the ‘Grand Tour of Ireland’ is the only tour to call into Donegal, and is helping to

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has approved the European Stability Mechanism after three questions were referred by the Supreme Court on foot of a case taken by Donegal TD Thomas Pringle. The court found EU law does not preclude the conclusion and ratification of the treaty. The case was referred to Europe after

Members of the Donegal Youth Council have expressed their anger at the news that a revised election process will take place this year, with members to be nominated by school management. The AGM takes place in Lifford today. Normally, every young person from 12 to 18 in secondary education or a youth reach programme had

The Courts of Justice of the European Union will give a judgement today on the legal challenge brought by Donegal South West Deputy Thomas Pringle to Ireland’s use of the ESM. The independent TD brought the challenge to Europe’s highest court, in an attempt to prevent the government from accessing the European Stability Mechanism bailout

A 22 year old man has been arrested and a lorry seized in Milton Keynes by detectives investigating the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh last year. The 25 year old was killed when a bomb exploded under his car in April 2011. Police have also carried out searches in Omagh and Cumbria, seizing

A 71 year-old Derry woman has been targeted by thieves as slept in her home. Detectives are appealing for information following the burglary in Shaw Court during the early hours of Saturday morning, 24th November. Sometime between 12.30am and 8.30am, the house was entered and a sum of cash, bank cards and mobile phone were

Councillor Ian McGarvey has received council backing for his calls for public toilet facilities in Rathmullen. The Councillor pointed out at the weekend that there are currently no public toilets in the seaside town, despite 63,000 tourists visiting the Rathmullan last year. Portaloos are in place near the beach, but it was highlighted at the

A Donegal County Cllr has called on the person sending correspondence to media outlets regarding local politician’s expenses to put their name and address to the letters. In recent months a number of anonymous letters have circulated in the local media regarding a number of County Cllrs and a local Senator making allegations of inaccurate

Sinn Fein is expressing outrage at an incident in Donegal last week during which a mother had to drive her unconcsious daughter to hospital while a paramedic worked on her in the back of the family car. An ambulance was called out by the mother – but it was only staffed by one paramedic because

An incident that has been described as a “mass brawl” in Strabane on Saturday night is been played down by the PSNI in the town. It’s understood a fight started outside a nightclub on Railway Road shortly after 2am. One man was seen covered in blood, while a woman was left with cuts and bruises

As Oireachtas members in Donegal North East begin the process of quarterly meetings with IDA Ireland  Deputy Joe Mc Hugh wants other individuals and groups to become inv9lved. He says the recent KeyedIn investment in Letterkenny was secured after one LYIT lecturer intervened, and he wants other people and groups to consider what they can

Detectives investigating the murder of a police officer in Omagh have been carrying out searches in England. Constable Ronan Kerr was killed when a bomb exploded under his car in April last year. Anti-terror officers are taking part in the operation in Cumbria, while searches are also being carried out in Omagh.

The Government has been again asked by the former employees of Assetco in Lisfannon to take up their cause and assist in them fighting for the redundancy they believe they are entitled too. 29 people lost their jobs earlier this month when Premier Fireserve, formerly Assetco lost its contract with the London Fire Brigade. The

Donegal North East Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says while he has no issues with the IDA personnel on the ground in the North West, he has serious issues with the leadership of the authority and the Enterprise MInister. He was speaking after Oireachtas members met with the authority at the weekend to discuss the fact

A woman remains in a serious condition in hospital this evening after she was struck by a vehicle on the Coneyburrow Road, Lifford last evening. The woman in her 40’s was struck by a car at approximately 7.15pm on the Castlefin to Lifford Road. She was rushed to Alnagelvin Hospital for treatment. The occupants of

The Government has been again asked by the formers employees of Assetco in Lisfannon to take up their cause and assist in them fighting for the redundancy they believe they are entitled too. 29 people lost their jobs earlier this month when Premier Fireserve, formerly Assetco lost its contract with the London Fire Brigade. The

Five of the seven wards evacuated during Friday night’s fire at Altnagelvin Hospital have now reopened. 120 patients where evacuated when a fire broke out on the top floor of the hospital building causing a pipe to burst which presented a flooding risk. Two other wards remain closed and patients are being cared for in

Gardai are appealing for witnesses to a serious injury collision which occurred at Coneyburrow Road, Lifford, Co Donegal on Saturday evening.. At approximately 7.15pm a female pedestrian aged in her 40s was seriously injured when she was struck by a motor car. She was taken by ambulance to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. The occupants of

The Western Health Trust has confirmed that all planned operations due to take place today at Altnagelvin Hospital have been cancelled due to an overnight fire. 120 patients were moved from their wards in a major evacuation operation at the hospital following the fire which broke out on the top floor. It is now thought

It has emerged that safety concerns had been previously  expressed about the ‘tower block’ at Altnagelvin Hospital which was last night the scene of a fire. It is understood that a fire on the top floor resulted in water tanks collapsing – this lead to 120 patients being evacuated from the top floor to floor

Donegal County Council is being urged to highlight Donegal’s unique needs to those responsible for deciding the new Electoral Area Boundaries. The Committee forms part of the next step in implementing the Action Programme for Effective Local Government and in reforming local government structures. Donegal’s Town Council’s will be replaced by a new system of

There are calls for funding to be allocated to provide public toilets in Rathmullan. Local Councillor Ian McGarvey says with tens of thousands of people visiting Rathmullan, new public toilets are essential. He says portaloos which are provided are not sufficient and present a particular challenge to those with a disability, The Councillor has already

Police and fire service personnel are currently attending a fire at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. The entrances to the hospital have been closed to all non-emergency personnel Police have confirmed that the evacuations of several wards has begun. There are no reports of any injuries at this time. It is thought the fire may have

Freezing temperatures will lead to dangerous driving conditions overnight (Friday). Met Eireann is forecasting that temperatures will dip as low as minus 4 degrees. It’ll lead to a severe and widespread frost – and icy patches are likely on untreated roads. Motorists are being advised to take particular care. Eoin Sherlock is with Met Eirean

The widow of a man who was killed when he was struck by a car near Ballyshannon in September has appealed to the driver of the car to come forward. Eunan McDevitt was killed on the N15 road near his home at Parkhill, Ballyshannon in the early hours of Saturday, September 29th.. Gardai believe he

Sinn Fein Deputy Pearse Doherty has been accused of reacting to Fianna Fail’s budget proposals with ‘near hysterics’ Sinn Fein’s Finance spokesperson has described Fianna Fail’s budget proposals as ‘dishonest’ claiming that over a third have been previously proposed by Sinn Fein. He says the proposals would also heap further financial pressure on low income

There has been a broad welcome to an EU vote that paves the way for conservation measures imposed on inshore and island fishermen to be eased. Efforts have been ongoing to remove and amend what many see as outdated and unworkable fishing constraints such as area and gear restrictions, which date back to 2009. From

A death threat which had been made against the brother of Andrew Allen, who was murdered by Republican Action Against Drugs, has been lifted. Daniel Allen was told last month that he must leave Derry or he would be shot. His brother Andrew was murdered by RAAD when he was killed in front of his

Strabane Courthouse is to remain opened for the foreseeable future. The Justice Minister in the North, David Ford announced that four court facilities across Northern Ireland are to close, but Strabane is not one of them. The courthouses in Bangor and Larne will be shut by next April with facilities in Magherafelt and Limavady to be closed

A meeting will be held in Donegal tonight in protest at the possibility that EU leaders impose cuts on CAP payments. The Common Agricultural Policy budget is just one of the items up for discussion later, when EU leaders meet for an EU Summit in Brussels. It’s proposed that CAP payments could be cut by

Parents and teachers need to be aware of just how distressing cyber-bullying can be for victims – and what signs to look out for. Cyber-bullying has been making headlines in recent months, after being linked with the deaths of two teenage girls in counties Leitrim and Donegal. A conference in Dublin today – being hosted

Sinn Fein has described Fianna Fail’s budget proposals as ‘dishonest’ claiming that over a third have been previously proposed by Sinn Fein. The party’s Finance Spokesperson, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty, says the proposals would also heap further financial pressure on low income families and see capital spending drastically cut. Deputy Doherty says he was also

Donegal County Council has been urged to set a target of years end to award a contract for the construction of the Dungloe/Glenties sewage schemes. 5 tenders were returned by the due date of 08th November and have now been forwarded to the Councils consultants who will prepare the tender report for the contract. Welcoming

A 39-year-old man charged in connection with the shooting dead of an RUC constable in 1993 in Derry has been released on bail. Christopher O’Kane of 107 Kular Court in Derry faced a total of five charges. O’Kane was charged with assisting offenders in the killing of Constable Michael Ferguson between January 23 and 25

Fianna Fáil’s proposed a raft of new taxes in an alternative budget. The party says it would tax salty and sugary foods, put a 10 percent levy on all off-licence sales, add 75 cent to a bottle of wine, increase DIRT tax so you’ll spend your savings, increase some motor tax rates, regulate the price

The family of a new bride who was strangled in the bath on her honeymoon, are to sue a newspaper for printing crime scene photos of her body. Michaela McAreavey was killed in Mauritius just 12 days after her wedding in January 2011. Her family are suing a local Mauritian paper for nearly 500-thousand euro,

SIPTU home help workers and their supporters from Donegal and across the west of Ireland will march this Sunday in Castlbar. The protesters are to assmble at the Chapel carpark in Castlebar on Sunday at 130pm and march towards the Taoiseachs office. SIPTU organiser Martin O Rourke is calling on home help workers, their families

The government has allocated €50,000 to local festivals in Donegal for 2013. The money comes through the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and will help fund 11 festivals across the country will amounts ranging from 4,500 euro to 7,000. The Guth Gafa receives the highest level of funding at 7,000 euro – there are

The prospect of campaigners from a number of different Donegal austerity groups running in the next local elections has taken a step closer. Support for fielding candidates has come at a number of campaign meetings in the past week, after no elected representatives turned up. Currently in Donegal there are a number of anti-austerity groups,

A moratorium should be imposed on all fracking, that’s the demand from the Independent MEP Marian Harkin. She says EU states should not allow any more fracking until all of the environmental protection laws are fully in place as the damage caused by it could be detrimental. MEPs this week voted in Parliament for robust

Groups in Donegal have until the end of this month to apply for funding to assist in hosting a Gathering event next year. Fund amounts will range from €500 to €2,500 with applications being taken up until the 30th of November on Donegal gathering dot com. Sarah Meehan is the Donegal Gathering Marketing Coordinator –