Author name: oisinkelly

The second home tax has raised nearly 2 million euro more this year than in 2011. Saturday marked this year’s deadline for payment of the 200 euro non-principal private residence charge, and almost 50 million euro had been paid by then nationally. Since the NPPR charge was introduced in 2009, Donegal has seen the fourth […]

The Cant Pay Wont Pay campaign has called on Donegal householders to ignore letters from the authorities urging them to pay the Household Tax. The campaign group are advising householders that the letters are not a bill or an invoice and that they can be safely ignored. Recently Environment Minister Phil Hogan said that if

It’s emerged that details of the new North South political forum will be confirmed in two days time. Donegal North East Deputy Joe McHugh has been part of the working group in the republic which has been engaged in the establishment of the new forum. Deputy Mc Hugh, Chair of the Joint Committee on the

It’s been confirmed that Donegal Local Development Company will be given control of all Gaeltacht leader programmes previously run in the county by MFG. Discussions between DLDC and the Department of the Environment are at an advanced stage, with a formal announcement of the takeover expected within the next week. Senator Brian O’Domhnaill, who also

More than €100,000 of cars were stolen from Colm Dillon Car Sales in Manorcunningham in the early hours of this morning. Three cars were stolen in the robbery. It follows a number of robberies in the Newtowncunningham and Manorcunningham areas in the past number of weeks. A blind, elderly man living alone in the area

The chairman of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has resigned. It comes ahead of a report into multi-million pound repair contracts. In an email to 3-thousand staff, Brian Rowntree wrote of “personal stress” and “a challenging relationship” with the North’s Department of Social Development.

The father of one of the two men accused of murdering Michaela McAreavey has said he loves his son and “has to get him out of this situation”. 32 year old Avinash Treebhoowoon and 42 year old Sandip Moneea deny the killing. Sooriedeo Treebhoowoon told the court in Mauritius that when he visited his son

A journalist who interviewed double killer John Gallagher says he believes Gallagher sincerely regrets the killing of his former girlfriend Anne Gillespie and her mother Annie in the grounds of Sligo General Hospital in 1981. He was found guilty but insane at the time. John Mooney conducted the lengthy interview on Saturday, the day after

Gardai have confirmed that a file will shortly be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the alleged sale of Department of Social Protection information to private investigators working on behalf of insurance companies. In a statement, the garda press office says that on the 22nd of February, a civil servant was

The removal will take place this evening of journalist Eugene Moloney, who died after being assaulted in Dublin City Centre. The 55 year old was attacked on Camden Street as he made his way home after a night out in the early hours of Sunday, June 24th. 21 year old Gary Burch of Kennington Close,

The organisers of the Donegal Relay for Life event held in May say they hope to develop a Daffodil Centre at Letterkenny General Hospital by the autumn. The Irish Cancer Society is in advanced discussions with hospital management, and hopes to confirm details of the support centre at the hospital within a matter of weeks.

As was expected, the controversial decision by Letterkenny Town Council to award planning permission to Tesco for petrol pumps has been referred to An Bord Pleanala. Planning permission was granted to Tesco for a filling station and second exit out of Letterkenny Shopping Centre this despite claims it contravenes the County Retail Plan. Before An

Three cars with an estimated value of up 100 thousand euro have been stolen from a car showroom in Manorcunningham. The vehicles were taken from Colm Dillon Car Sales in the early hours of this morning The cars were stolen from the companies courtyard area. Gardai are liaising with the PSNI in case the vehicles

A 40 year old woman has died following a house fire in Falcarragh last night. It’s understood the woman lived alone in the house. The alarm was raised at about 9.30pm last night after a blaze broke out at a house at Dunmore Lane, Falcarragh. Emergency services arrived at the scene and found the body

There is uproar in Manorcunningham this afternoon after it emerged that a blind, elderly man living alone in the area was targeted by robbers over night. While details are sketchy, the man was physically un-harmed but is said to have been distressed by the ordeal. A chip shop in the same area was also robbed

The boy who had been missing for over an hour in Derry has been found safe and well. The alarm was raised when the  10 year old boy got lost at the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Homecoming event being held at Queen’s Quay. The search was called off when the boy was found

Double killer John Gallagher is a free man today having yesterday been released from the Central Mental Hospital. The Mental Health Review Board granted a conditional discharge to the Lifford man more than six weeks after he handed himself in. John Gallagher was found guilty but insane of the 1988 fatal shooting of his former

Ulster bank is refusing to be drawn on whether its boss Jim Brown will forgo his bonus in light of the massive computer meltdown at the bank. The Payment problems have now entered their 12th day, and have so far affected up to 150-thousand people here. Stephen Hester, the head of RBS, Ulster Bank’s parent

More socio-economic results have been released by the Central Statistics Office from Census 2011. In April last year, there were 72,146 people in the labour force in County Donegal, an increase of 7,054, or 11%, since April 2006. However, the labour force participation rate in the county is considerably lower than the national average. In

The Western Development Commission has launched a one million euro loan fund for creative industries in the West and North West. The commission says it’s particularly interested in sole traders or small companies which have the potential to make a major contribution, but can lack access to funding and resources. The commission says events such

Double killer John Gallagher has today been  released from Central Mental Hospital following an assessment of the Mental Health Review Board. John Gallagher was found guilty but insane of the 1988 fatal shooting of his former girlfriend Anne Gillespie and her mother Annie Gillespie in the grounds of Sligo General Hospital when they were visiting

In Mauritius, the trial of two men accused of killing Michaela McAreavey has been adjourned for legal argument. The pair deny murdering the 27-year-old during her honeymoon in Mauritius in January of last year. Proceedings were halted this morning after a motion was put forward by one of the lawyers in the case. The trial

Farmers in Donegal are facing a crisis with the harvesting of silage as one of the wettest Junes in decades takes it’s toll. It’s understood that just over half of the first cut has been harvested, with the season running more than two weeks later than normal. And as the wet weather continues there are

A West Tyrone MLA has called for a drunk drivers jail sentence to be increased. Ross Hussey spoke out after being handed a petition calling for Connor Breen’s sentence to be made longer. Strabane man Simon Glen was killed when the car he was driving along Omaghs Doochary Road was ploughed into by a drunken

The Arranmore Lifeboat was called out in the early hours of this morning to assist a French fishing vessel. A crew member on board the vessel which was located 50 miles northwest off Arranmore had complained of chest pains . Initially the coastguard helicopter was called out, but when they couldn’t airlift the casualty as

A man has been charged in connection with a paramilitary-style shooting in Strabane in April 2010. Ryan McColgan, who was 24 at the time, was brought out of a house at Lisnafin Park into the garden, where he was shot in both legs. The man who is due to appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court today

The yacht leading the Clipper Round the World Race has arrived in Derry this morning. The Australian boat and its nine competitors, including the Derry/Londonderry vessel, have spent 11 months circumnavigating the globe. The boats arrival in the city will be the highlight of a week of celebrations. Five more ships are expected tomorrow and

The Sea Sessions festival gets underway in Co. Donegal today. It celebrates surfing, music and art over three days in Bundoran. The event is worth around 5 million euro to the local economy. Spokesperson Daniel Browne says Delorentos, the Happy Mondays, and Jape are just some of the names set to take to the stage:

Homeowners who haven’t paid the 100-euro household charge are to get letters next week, warning that they’ll face penalties if they don’t pay up. The Environment Minister has told the Dail that 960-thousand out of 1.6-million homeowners have so far registered for the tax. That represents a complience rate of 60 per cent. However Phil

The CEO of Ulster Bank has finally broken his silence on the I-T debacle which has left customers facing serious problems with their accounts. Jim Browne says the bank is aiming to fix the problems – which have affected automatic payments – by early next week. But he’s refusing to say whether that means Monday

Met Eireann has warned of heavy rainfall in Donegal this evening as thunderstorms have moved up from southern parts of the country. But the Northwest looks like it will escape the flooding that has hit the North-East and South of the country. Earlier this afternoon there were huge downpours in several parts of the county,

It’s been revealed that almost a quarter of a million pounds was spent on the Strabane dole office just months before the announcement that 80% of staff are being relocated to Derry. Documents released under Freedom of Information also reveal how £400,000 in total has been spent enhancing and maintaining the facility in the past

Donegal had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country last year. That’s according to 2011 Census figures released today by the Central Statistics Office. Cork City and Waterford also showed high rates of unemployment, while Limerick City had the highest unemployment rate in the country last year. New information also released shows that the

Promoting Letterkenny will be a key priority for the town’s new Mayor, Cllr Dessie Larkin. Cllr Larkin and his Deputy Cllr Victor Fisher were elected unanimously at last night’s AGM. It’s his third time in the chair, and his second time to hold the title of Mayor of Letterkeny, making him the first person to

Letterkenny Town Council is to receive €232,000 for an active travel programme in the town, designed to encourage walking and cycling as well as promoting public transport. A town centre parking strategy is also included in the package which was announced this morning by Junior Minister Alan Kelly. Minister Kelly says the Town Council’s application

Moville born Fr Eugene Boland has been speaking of the trauma of being accused of indecent assault, the agony of the two year wait for a court case  and the joy of the not guilty verdit delivered yesterday at Derry Crown Court. This morning, he gave a lengthy interview to Shaun Doherty about his ordeal.

The woman who died following a crash in County Sligo yesterday afternoon has been named locally as 82 year old Eithne Gallagher from Ballyshannon. Ms Gallagher was critically injured when the car in which she was a passenger was in collision with a lorry near Cliffoney on the N15 Bundoran to Sligo road, and was

A twice daily bus service linking Burtonport and Letterkenny via Churchill has been launched today by Junior Minister Alan Kelly at a function in Letterkenny. The service will begin next Monday, run by rural transport company S.I.T.T. Councillor Mick Quinn is a member of the co-ordinating committee, and says as well as serving the West

Fishing organisations have welcomed agreement between the European Parliament and the Danish Presidency on sanctions to be imposed on countries or territories engaged in unsustainable fishing practices. The agreement was reached on foot of a report compiled by North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher, who has been looking at the decision of Iceland and

Donegal South West TD Pearse Doherty says his decision to take a case against the Referendum Commission ahead of last month’s EU Fiscal Treaty poll has been vindicated in a High Court decision on costs. The case centred on statements made by the commission about whether Ireland has a veto over the establishment of the

Fianna Fail Cllr Dessie Larkin is the new Mayor of Letterkenny, with Cllr Victor Fisher elected Deputy Mayor. Both were elected unanimously at this evening’s AGM. They replace Cllrs Gerry Mc Monagle and Jimmy Kavanagh.  

Gardai have confirmed that the woman who died following a crash in County Sligo this afternoon was from Ballyshannon. The woman in her eighties was critically injured when  the car in which she was a passenger was in collision with a lorry near Cliffoney on the N15 Bundoran to Sligo road. She was later pronounced dead

The Dail has been told that representatives from Ulster Bank and the Central Bank should be called before an Oireachtas Committee to address questions arising from the technical glitch which has caused severe inconvenience for customers. The issue was raised by Sinn Fein’s Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty. The Donegal South West TD says 150,000