Author name: oisinkelly

Donegal County Council has confirmed that 29,013 properties have so far been registered with the Local Government Management Agency to pay the Household Charge and that a further 317 are awaiting to be updated to the system. This equates to some 45% of households liable to register in Donegal, according to the council’s own estimates.

Ardara in Donegal and Derry City are both included in a longlist for the Irish Times ‘Best Place to Live’ award. A total of 25 towns in 16 counties are included on the list which was published this morning.

A 21-year-old man has been charged in relation to an armed robbery near Magherafelt in which a schoolboy was badly beaten. The man was arrested in Belfast on Saturday. Another man, aged 28, arrested in England on Friday, is still in custody. Philip Convery was beaten during an attempted robbery at his grandmother’s house on

A new report has highlighted the high level of vacant property in Donegal and concludes that Ireland has so many empty houses that it would take up to 43 years to fill them all. Deutsche Bank figures suggest that there are 289,451 empty houses in Ireland, including almost 60,000 vacant holiday homes. A new report

A Group of Donegal fans are amongst an estimatated 100 Irish soccer fans who were left without accommodation in Poland last night after they were refused entry to the campsite they had booked and paid for. Some Irish fans have been left forced to find alternative accommodation after a campsite in Poznan closed The company

A new report has highlighted the high level of vacan property in Donegal and concludes  that Ireland has so many empty houses that it would take up to 43 years to fill them all. Deutsche Bank figures suggest that there are 289,451 empty houses in Ireland, including almost 60,000 vacant holiday homes. This represents a

Junior Finance Minister Brian Hayes says Europe could be getting to the end of the financial crisis. It follows yesterday’s 100 billion euro Spanish bailout making it the fourth EU country to seek financial aid. There’s now growing calls for Ireland to renegotiate it’s deal with the Troika. But Minister Hayes says the Government want

Three units of the fire service brought a blaze at an apartment block at main street Dungloe under control last night (Saturday). The fire broke out on the town’s main street on the second floor of the three storey building causing extensive internal damage. The building is located adjacent to several commercial properties in the

Almost half a million euro has been allocated for pavement improvement works on the N56 near Gweedore. The money, which is additional to the grants announced earlier this year, follows a Swedish led road research project. Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed the additional allocation of E450,000 by the N.R.A. will facilitate 2km of the

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney is being warned that if he does not act to protect farm incomes in Donegal and other disadvantaged areas, many farm families will be forced off the land. North West MEP Marian Harkin was speaking after figures published this week show that farm payments to Donegal fell by over 10 million

A defamation action by developer Michael O’Flynn against Fine Gael Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton over comments she made in Donegal may get a High Court hearing late this year. The proceedings by the Cork developer and Fine Gael donor were initiated in late July 2010, just days after Ms Creighton gave

The PSNI have announced a new strategy to deal with papamilitary style attacks folllowing an upsurge in incidents involving dissidents such as RAAD, particularly in the North West. Assistant Constrbale Drew Harris today said there is a renewed determination to help communities take these attacks and attackers off their streets and reduce the harm caused.

North West MEP Marian Harkin says special measures must be taken to address discrepancies between payments to farmers in Donegal compared to other areas of the country. Figures published by the Department of Agriculture show that since 2008, payments per farmer in Donegal has reduced by an average of €1,186 resulting in a total loss

A man’s been arrested in connection with an attempted armed robbery in Magherafelt on Tuesday night last last in which a 16 year old youth sustained very serious injuries. Police have confirmed the suspect was arrested this afternoon in England, and is being brought back to Northern Ireland to be questioned by PSNI detectives. The

Sinn Fein have said they would have no problem if Labour Cllr Frank McBrearty was elected as the next Mayor Donegal. It’s reported in todays Donegal News that Fianna Fail believe Cllr McBrearty does not merit the top job in the County. But in order to block the Labour Cllr becoming Mayor it would require

Prosecutors in the Michaela McAreavey murder trial will not recall her husband to the witness stand. A prosecution lawyer had said John McAreavey had “mixed up” some of the dates in his evidence on Wednesday. Following an objection from the defence, he will not have to return to court to give a clarification. 30-year-old Avinash

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh has played down the ‘No’ vote in last weeks EU Stability Treaty Referendum in Donegal, where both constituencies returned ‘No’ majorities. Speaking during the Dail debate on the establishment of the EMS last evening, Deputy Mc Hugh said he believes people made a point locally, while happy to

Donegal South-West Deputy Thomas Pringle has indicated that he will support a motion of censure against Mick Wallace if it arises. The Committee on Procedures and Privileges has been asked to determine if any Oireachtas rules were broken, after it emerged Mick Wallace’s construction firm made a 2.1 million euro settlement with Revenue. The Independent

A 22 year old Dungiven man has appeared at Derry Magistrate’s Court charged with causing death by dangerous driving last December. Kevin Michael Brolly of 56, Rannyglass was charged with causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol, and failing to stop for police plus a series of other driving

There have been calls for a jobs task force to be established in the East Derry area after it emerged that the remaining 19 jobs are likely to be lost at Spanboard in Coleraine. The company says it’s consulting with the workforce, with local MLA John Dallat saying from his contact with the company and

There are fears that 19 jobs are to go at Spanboard in Coleraine, after the chipboard manufacturer announced it’s consulting with workers. Local MLA John Dallat says it’s just over three years since 90 employees got their P45s and now the gates are likely to close on the remaining few. He says Coleraine and the

The nephew of a Donegal woman murdered in Scotland almost 70 years ago has claimed that he knows who the key suspect is. Gertrude Canning from County Donegal was 20 years old when she was shot several times and her body was dumped in a field close to the army base where she worked in

The government is being urged to enact legislation to introduce a register for lobbyists and legislation governing how they operate. The issue was raised in the Dail this morning by Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle, who suggested Labour had “gone over to the dark side”. Deputy Pringle asked Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore if, having previously

Donegal County Council are hopeful of gaining blue flag status for 13 beaches this year. Applications have been made for beaches at Culdaff, Shroove, Lisfannon, Portsalon, Marblehill, Killahoey, Carrickfinn, Narin, Fintra, Murvagh, Rossnowlagh and Downings. Bundoran Town Council has applied for Blue Flag status for Bundoran Beach. This years allocation of blue flags is to

Funding has be announced this morning for a cycleway linking Donegal Town and Newtowncunningham. Junior Public Transport Minister Alan Kelly has this morning announed a series of investments in cycle infrastructure to launch National Bike Week. As part of the infrastructure almost half a million euro has been allocated to Donegal. Donegal North East Deputy

A new whiskey distillery is to be opened in Derry by the company behind the city’s St Brendan’s cream liqueur operation. Niche Drinks have applied for planning approval to erect a new £10m, custom-built factory complex in the city. Planning permission has also been sought to change the use of its current six-acre plant in

Police in Derry and Tyrone seized approximately 125 items of alcohol following a Snapper Operation in the Foyle and Strabane areas last weekend. Seven people willl be reported to Derry City Council in relation to breaches of the on-street drinking bye laws. One man was arrested for obstruction and resisting arrest. Police say Operation Snapper

Campaigners in Donegal say people should not be alarmed by the Minister for the Environment’s instruction to local authorities to start sending out letters to people who haven’t paid the household charge – within weeks. The Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay campaign in Donegal says what they call the latest threats from Minister Phil Hogan should

Detectives are appealing for information following an armed robbery in Magherafelt last night in which three members of one family were injured. At around 8.45pm two masked men armed with a firearm entered a house at Mayogall Road and attacked the occupants of the house. A 16 year old man is in a critical condition

Forty eight men have been shot in parlimilitary style attacks in the Northwest in the past number of years. That’s according to figures released by the Ambulance service and Altnagelvin hospital. Five men were shot and wounded in Strabane since 2010, while another three were shot in Donegal including Derry man Andrew Allen who was

An earthquake measuring 4.0 magnitude has struck off the west coast of Ireland. It happened 60 km off the County Mayo coast at around 9 o clock this morning. According to the British Geological Survey, which monitors earthquake activity, it was strong enough to be felt in counties Mayo, Galway and Sligo. The BGS said

A 76-year-old man has been dragged out of his van by hijackers in Derry. The man and a young woman was driving on Inishcarn Road in Creggan at about 9 o clock last night when a number of youths forced him to stop. The van was later found on fire at Fanad Drive. Deputy Mayor,

The Minister for the Environment and Local Government says local authorities will be sending out letters to people who haven’t paid the household charge – within weeks. Phil Hogan says 945 thousand homes have paid the 100 euro charge already. That’s a 58 per cent compliance rate. It’s reported that second home owners in arrears

John McAreavey has broken down in tears while giving evidence in the trial of two men accused of killing his wife in Mauritius. 30 year old Avinash Treebhoowoon and 42 year old Sandip Moneea deny murdering the 27 year old in her hotel room, during the couple’s honeymoon in January of last year. It’s Mr

4,301 Donegal students will sit the Junior and Leaving Cert examinations this year, with more females than males sitting the Leaving Cert, but more males than females sitting the Junior Cert. The vast majority of the students will sit the exams in one of the 28 second level schools in the county. A total of

Donegal North East Deputy Charlie McConalogue is welcoming confirmation that 23 Donegal childcare facilities have been granted State funding this year, but says far more is needed. The Fianna Fail Children’s’ Spokesperson says this only scratches the surface, as there are hundreds of Donegal childcare projects that were not granted funding this year. Deputy Mc Conalogue says

Police in the North have identified a body buried in a grave in Strabane as that of 16 year-old Gerard Slattery from Omagh, who’s been missing since 1973. The PSNI say it’s moving towards a conclusion of their investigation into his death. Independent Omagh Councillor Patrick McGowan says Gerard’s mother died some time ago…..

The Donegal man who died in a road crash in Western Australia on Sunday morning has been named locally as Thomas Mc Guire from Ardara. The 24 year old died when the Holden Rodeo pick up truck he was driving rolled over close to Wickepin, about 214km south-east of Perth. It’s understood he had been

A 24 year old man from Donegal has died in a road crash in Western Australia. The man died when the Holden Rodeo pick up truck he was driving rolled over in Wickepin, about 214km south-east of Perth, just after 8 o’clock yesterday morning. It is believed the man was the only person in the