Author name: oisinkelly

Hundreds are expected to take part in a march later today in protest at changes to Gynecological services at Letterkenny General Hospital. Only yesterday it was confirmed that the controversial transfer of gynae services will take place on Monday. Six specialist beds are being moved from the present Gynae ward to Surgical 2, two floors above, but […]

A meeting has taken place between concerned local people and a number of agencies to address ‘widespread’ anti-social behaviour in the Kincasslagh, Keadue and Belcruit area of the Rosses Locals, the gardai and Donegal Youth Service were amongst those that attended the meeting. The meeting heard of the fears of families and older people living

A Donegal chef was told by a judge that he was very lucky he was not going to jail for selling drugs to pay off a fine. Eugene Gallagher, who is 24 and of Ernedale Heights, Ballyshannon admitted possession of €3,986 worth of cannabis for sale when he appeared in court. Ballyshannon District Court heard

Business and residential customers of Electric Ireland are to see a significant increase in their bills. The energy firm’s announced a price hike of almost 6% from October 1st for its domestic electricity customers. An incease to comercial customers is expected to follow. Electric Ireland estimates its electricity price hike will add 1.22 per week

It’s been confirmed that the controversial transfer of gynaecological services at Letterkenny General Hospital will take place on Monday, with six specialist beds being moved from the present Gynae ward to Surgical 2, two floors above. Tomorrow, a large attendance is expected at a march and rally from LYIT to the Town’s Square calling for

As plans to move into the new bloc at Letterkenny General Hospital enter ther final phase, unions at the hospital say their cooperation is being given on an interim basis, and they will be monitoring the situation. Impact, Siptu and the INMO say they believe that more staff and resources are needed to run the

A Stranorlar area councillor has described figures released by the CSO, which reveal the number of vacant residential units in Donegal, as ‘shocking’. The figures published by the CSO in the ‘Roof Over Our Heads’ report show that there are over 13,360 residential units lying vacant in the county. This does not include people who

A man has been charged in connection with a hijacking in Dublin of a car carrying a Donegal woman and her 10-year-old son. 37 year-old Bernadette Moran was stopped at traffic lights in Dublin following the All-Ireland senior football championship quarter-final between Donegal and Kerry in Croke Park on August 5th. Her husband Kevin Moran

The Western Trust in the North has confirmed a number of staff have been suspended after a police investigation was launched into allegations of abuse at a home for vulnerable adults in Derry. There have been a number of claims of mistreatment at Ralph’s Close in Gransha. The trust says the allegations are of a

Some of Ireland’s newest emigrants to Australia are struggling with exploitation and financial difficulties. 30-thousand young people moved to Australia last year, and and while most of them are reporting successes, some are experiencing difficulties. Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty is currently in Australia, where he’s meeting with Irish emigrants in four cities this week.

Management at Letterkenny General Hospital have confirmed that that the new emergency department and medical ward will open next week. Services will start to move into the new building on Thursday the 13th of September. A number of project teams have been working tirelessly over the past 6 months to prepare the new unit for

Letterkenny General Hospital and the St Conal’s Hospital Campus are to become completley smoke free from next week onwards. From Thursday 13th September, no-one who enters the gates of the hospital will be allowed to smoke. The HSE has set a target of introducing the tobacco free campus policy to all hospitals around the country

A Donegal Senator has said that it is disgraceful that the Government is standing by cuts to home care packages and home help hours for patients with severe disabilities. Yesterday, the HSE chief Tony O’Brien issued a letter confirming the reversal of cuts to personal care assistants. But Senator Ó Domhnaill says the partial climb-down announced

The future of a Strabane residential care home is in doubt once again after the Health Board unveiled plans to cut its residential care facilities in the North by half. There was a huge outcry when Greenfield Home was threatened with closure four years ago, but it was eventually announced in March 2009 that the

With confusion and uncertainty surround the future of the Gynae services, 10 key questions have been put to John Hayes the Area Manager for the north west.  Below are his answers.   Q1.              Will there be a Gynae Service at Letterkenny Hospital?  A1.              Yes. It is proposed to move the Gynae inpatient beds from their

There has been a small month on month fall in the number signing on in Donegal but the live register still shows 22,229 people in receipt of social welfare in the county. There was also a fall in those signing on last month compared to August of 2011 but community groups attribute that to emigration

A revised planning application for a major development on the old Fruit of the Loom site in Buncrana is before An Bord Pleanala. The appeal is based on the Council awarding Jansu Development Limited  permission for a mixed use development made up of commercial units, apartments, parking spaces and 4 ESB stations. The plans would

A judge expressed concern yesterday over head scars on two young women after they were accused of fighting and causing harm to each other in Donegal Town. Judge Kevin Kilrane was looking at photographs of Shaniene Bushe and Sarah Timoney when he commented about cuts which required six stitches in one and five in the

Charges against four people including former hunger striker Marian Price in relation to a dissident march in Derry on April 25 last year have been re-instated by the Public Prosecution Service They are due to appear at a preliminary enquiry at Derry Magistrate’s Court on September 27. The four face charges in connection with managing

Jim McGuinness has acknowledged that his opposite number James Horan has every right to exploit the discussion over the venue for any potential Donegal homecoming after the All-Ireland football final. The Donegal manager described the attempt to influence the venue for a homecoming by the Letterkenny Chamber as “disrespectful” McGuinness said it is something that

A man in his mid twenties has been transferred to hospital in Dublin having suffered injuries in Letterkenny this morning. The man suffered head and spinal injuries. Gardai believe his injuries were as a result of a fall and do not suspect he was the victim of an assault. It is understood that a dispute

Derry’s urban regeneration company Ilex looks set to lose responsibility for one of its two flagship projects in the city. The Department for Social Development has confirmed that it is now considering taking over the project management role for the Fort George former Army base site. The announcement is a blow for Ilex, set up

One of two men who were cleared of the murder of Michaela McAreavey says it was obvious from the start that he had no hand in her murder. The 27 year old was found dead while on honeymoon in Mauritius in January 2011. In July, Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea were acquitted over the death

Opposition parties are accusing the Government of chaotic management of the health service – after Health Minister James Reilly last night announced a climbdown on some of the cuts targeted at people with disabilities. After a lengthy cabinet meeting yesterday, Minister Reilly said he would order the HSE not to cut the hours of personal

A Letterkenny Town Council has been heavily critical of those behind a string of Hoax calls to the emergency services asking them to stop before they cost someone their life. Councillor Gerry McMonagle says a number of residents from a particular part of town have had different branches of the emergency services sent to their

A County Councillor says the HSE has ‘lost the plot’ It follows news that a last ditch attempt by Marley Coaches to save the bus service that took patients from Donegal to Dublin for treatment has been rejected by the HSE. The Executive rejected proposals that would have seen its subsidy halved to around 50

The Irish Cancer Society is to launch a new campaign in Donegal aimed at raising money for breast cancer research. The Get the Girls Campaign is calling on all women in the county to get involved. Women can get together and raise money for breast cancer in any way they want. Donna Parsons from the

A Restaurant in Letterkenny was one of eleven food businesses closed last month for breaches of food safety legislation. Indian Royale restaurant, Market Centre, Main Street, Letterkenny was closed by environmental health officers in the HSE for breaches of the FSAI Act 1988. The order was lifted two days later. The Food Safety Authority of

Donegal All-Ireland winner Martin McHugh has called for an end to any discussion of a Donegal home coming claiming it is playing in to Mayo’s hands. Donegal play Mayo in the All-Ireland decider later this month – it has been reported that Letterkenny Chamber is calling for a home coming to take place in Letterkenny.

The Donegal County Board says it has yet to decide on where any homecoming after the All-Ireland Final would take place. It follows reports that the Letterkenny Chamber had expressed its desire for the homecoming to be held in Letterkenny. In a statement the Donegal County Board said the County Executive in conjunction with senior

A last ditch attempt by Marley Coaches to save the bus service that took patients from Donegal to Dublin for treatment has been rejected by the HSE. Francis Marley, presented a set of figures to show the service, stopped two weeks ago, could still operate if the HSE’s subsidy was halved to around €50,000. Those

A Donegal Senator has said the government must realise that many homeowners can simply not afford to pay property tax describing proposals as a bombshell to homeowners. The Government’s plans to introduce a market value based property tax from January. Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has described it as an unfair and discriminatory system that will cause

Hundreds of people today attended the funeral of David Charlton, husband of former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan, who died at the weekend. Mr Charlton, who was a garda connected to the Glenties District, passed away following a long battle with illness. As well as friends and family from the local area, a number of Mary Coughlan’s

800 civil service jobs are to be moved from Belfast to Ballykelly with the relocation of the North’s Department of Agriculture. The new offices will be based at the site of the former Shackleton Army barracks. Work will commence on the site over the next two years, with the new headquarters ready for occupation during

A Letterkenny Town Councillor has urged those intending to apply for a Home Insulation Grant to ensure they have recieved the grant before having any work done. The grants are available under the better energy homes scheme but the application for a grant must be made by the homeowner themselves; it cannot be made on

There’s anger in Buncrana this morning after a meeting was told last night that the Cashel na Cor support centre for people with special needs is top be cut from a five day to a three day service. The main centre is in Buncrana, and there are also centres in Carndonagh and Moville. Local Councillor

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has begun his visit to Australia during which he will highlight the need for Irish workers safety to be ensured and for Irish people there to be entitled to vote on Irish affairs Deputy Doherty will visit Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, speaking to public meetings and engaging with local politicians,

There is anger in Inishowen after a meeting  was told this evening of plans to cut day service supports to persons with special needs and their families in Inishowen from five days down to three at centres in Buncrana, Carndonagh and Moville. During the meeting in the Cashel na Cor Centre in  Buncrana, families were

The Mayor of Letterkenny has said that his preference would be for the reception to welcome home the Donegal Team remain in its traditional home of Donegal Town. Donegal will take on Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship later this month but already the Letterkenny Chamber is reportedly pitching for the team to return

The President of Letterkenny I.T. has welcomed funding of 12 million pounds to progress plans for a Northwest Science Park on the Fort George site in Derry and in Letterkenny. The plans would see a partnership between the Northern Ireland Science Park in Belfast with ILEX and Letterkenny Institute of Technology in the North West.

Almost £1,000 which had been stolen following a charity event for a three-year-old child with cancer is thought to have been left in a church in Omagh. Oscar Knox was diagnosed with neuroblastoma – a rare cancer which mainly affects children – in November. On Friday night, almost 2,000 pounds was raised in a charity

Police in Derry are investigating the cause of a fire at the former Clooney Army base on the Waterside. The fire was spotted in derelict portable buildings on the Limavady Road site just before 8 o’clock last night, with four appliances and almost 20 firefighters called to the site. The former army base has been

Five councillors from Donegal travelled to Wexford for a conference on local government budgets, even though an almost identically titled seminar was taking place in Letterkenny the very same weekend. The Irish Independent reports today that one Wexford councillor made the trip in the opposite direction. According to the pasper, on the weekend of November

Buncrana has been found to be ‘cleaner than European norms’ in the latest Irish Business Against Litter league table which has been published this morning. Cavan came out on top, but there is no classification for Letterkenny which withdrew from the league earlier this year. Buncrana is ranked 15th of 42 areas around the country,

Donegal Action Against Austerity have called on people who have paid the €100 Household Charge to write to their local County Councils demanding their money back. The group says those who boycotted the charge have been proven right to have done so as the Minister of Environment, Phil Hogan is now cutting the third quarter

Sinn Fein in Donegal says an analysis of budgetary figures which they obtained late last week shows that Letterkenny General Hospital has been systematically underfunded for many years. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says that per 1000 inpatients, Letterkenny General Hospital receives the lowest budgetary allocation of any hospital in the state and the lowest allocation

The organisers of a rally in support of the retention of Gynae services in the current form at Letterkenny General have rejected HSE claims that a reorganisation would not reduce the quality of service. Concerns persist over management plans to close the Gynaecology Ward, transfer services to surgical wards and deploy staff to the new

The national Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes says it plans to hold a series of protests at local council meetings throughout the country over the coming weeks. The group is stepping up its campaign as fears mount that the 600 thousand or so homeowners, who have yet to pay the household charge – may