Author name: oisinkelly

Over 350 people turned out in Brinaleck last night for a meeting of the “Can’t Pay Won’t Pay” campaign, addressed by local priest Fr Brian O’Fearraigh. The priest’s decision to publicly back the campaign and address the meeting was the focus of a major discussion on Highland Radio’s Shaun Doherty Show yesterday morning. Meeting organiser […]

Donegal County Councillorr Ciaran Brogan has said fundamental questions must be raised about how the Letterkenny General Hospital is funded. He was responding to yesterday’s confirmation from HSE CEO Cathal Magee that Letterkenny General Hospital’s financial situaton is being reviewed by the executive’s board. The head of the HSE said Letterkenny General Hospital faces major

A mass protest will be held in Letterkenny tomorrow week against cuts to school funding, particularly as they affect small rural  schools. The organisers says the protest will highlight a number of issues, including cuts to some DEIS schools, and the impact changes to pupil – teacher ratios will have on Donegal’s smaller schools. Spokesperson

A Donegal County Councillor has called Minister Leo Varadkar  to reinstate the Local Improvement Schemes across the Country which he says are hugely important for Donegal. The LIS Scheme allowed the council repair lanes or roadways outside the County Roads network providing  10% – 15% of the cost was paid by the users of the

The Sandhouse Hotel in Rossnowlagh is under new ownership having been sold at auction in Dublin today. We understand its current manager, Paul Diver, bought the property for 650 thousand euro. The 3.2 acre site includes planning permission for 16 apartments as well as the 55-bedroom hotel, which also has a spa on site. The

A Catholic priest based in Gweedore has defended his calls for people not to pay the household charge. Fr Brian O’Fearraigh says he will attend a Cant Pay Wont Pay meeting tonight in Brinaleck, were he will speak out against the charge. The priest says he believes the charge is an unfair and unjust tax.

It’s being claimed that busloads of drunken youngsters from Donegal are descending upon Derry at the weekends. Derry City Cllr Sean Gallagher claims that these youngsters from Donegal are telling their parents that they are going to the cinema and bowling alley. But in fact the teenagers are getting off in the Pennyburn Industrial Estate

The Sandhouse Hotel in Rossnowlagh could have new owners by the end of the day as it is up for auction in Dublin. The property is part of the €10.3 million portfolio of buildings on offer at the sale, which will take place at the Shelboure Hotel. The auction includes 100 lots ranging from investment

Police in Derry are appealing for information after it emerged this morning that a pipe bomb was  made safe in the city yesterday. Police were called to a green space near McGill Court yesterday afternoon, after a member of the public reported seeing a piece of copper piping. Army technical officers examined it, and declared

Five schools in Donegal are to be offered the chance to replace prefabs with permanent accomodation as part of a €35 million programme covering 200 schools. The list to be announced by Minister Ruairi Quinn this afternoon includes four national schools and one secondary school in Donegal. The national schools are Annagry National School, Woodlands

The Irish Farmers’ Journal has published a study today showing that Donegal is one of 15 counties which saw agricultural land prices fall. The average price of agricultural land in the county last year was just under  €9,400 an acre. That’s 5.2% down on the previous year, but slightly higher than the Irish average of

The body found in the River Foyle near Porthall this week has been identified as that of David Colhoun. Gardai confirmed last evening that following consultations with State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, they are satisfied the remains are those of the 22 year old. More DNA tests will now take place before the remains are

The head of the HSE has identified Letterkenny General as one of the hospitals facing the biggest challenge in 2012. The Irish Medical Times reports that Cathal Magee told the Board of the Executive that immediate action is being taken by the HSE to review the plans of Letterkenny General and a number of other

Eamon O’Cuiv has resigned as Deputy Leader of Fianna Fail and as the party’s spokesperson for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Míchael Martin says that Deputy O’Cuiv’s refusal to support the Parliamentary Party’s position on the Fiscal Compact meant that it was no longer feasible for him to occupy these roles. Deputy O’Cuiv says he

Skeletal remains found in the River Foyle near Porthall yesterday have been identified as 22-year-old David Colhoun. Garda Supt Vincent O’Brien said that following consultation with State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, they are satisfied the remains are that of the 22 year old. The remains will be removed from Letterkenny General Hospital on Friday afternoon

There appears to be a split emerging in Fianna Fáil after the deputy leader suggested he may not agree with campaigning for a Yes vote on the referendum on the Fiscal Compact Treaty. Party leader Micheál Martin has been adamant the party will campaign for a ‘yes’ vote, but Éamon O Cuív has indicated he

Over 350 people from Donegal have been participating in today’s anti-austerity protest in Dublin, with organisers says they’re getting a very good reception. Marchers have been highlighting opposition to the household charge and new septic tank legislation, as well as calling for an end to cuts in services such as health and education. Over 6,000

The use of mobile phones while driving is to be the focus of the next  Donegal Road Safety Working Group campaign, with a garda enforcement campaign running alongside it. Inspector Michael Harrison told Highland Radio News today that there is an unacceptably high level of mobile phone use by drivers in Donegal, particularly around Letterkenny.

More skeletal remains have been found in the Foyle near Porthall, Lifford, this morning, with indications that this will make identification easier. The find was made shortly before 11 o’clock by divers. Yesterday, some remains were found, but they were incomplete. Now, it’s believed all the remains have been recovered, and today’s find means dental

It’s reported that ASDA is close to agreeing a deal to buy the former Arntz Belting site in Derry. According to the BBC, the company hopes to open a new store on the 12 acre site at Pennyburn which could create up to 430 jobs. It’s expected that an application will be made as soon

Donegal Action Against Austerity is calling on people across the country to show solidarity today and join in protests. DAAA are bringing their protest to Dublin today. Protestors are being asked to meet at The Spire on O’Connell Street at 12.00 noon, and will march to the Dail at 1.30. Several buses are en route

Donegal South-West Deputy, Thomas Pringle has called the Attorney General’s decision to call a referendum on the Fiscal Compact Treaty a “good day for democracy.” The Attorney General has said that a referendum on the Fiscal Compact Treaty will be required after examining the question in depth. The Government has not yet announced a date

A post mortem will be carried out today on the skeletal remains which were recovered from the River Foyle yesterday morning. The remains were found at 9 o’clock yesterday morning by workers removing sand from the river A post mortem will be carried out in Letterkenny General Hospital by state pathologist Marie Cassidy at 1

The issue of the future of Lifford Hospital has been raised in the Dail today by the Fianna Fail leader. Michael Martin hit out at the Government today during leaders questions. He said that the current Government have not kept promises they made to the people of the Northwest one year ago. Deputy Martin asked

The Trade Union IMPACT is hitting out at the HSE after it emerged the Coffee Dock at Letterkenny General Hospital is to be outsourced to a private company, and staff are to be redeployed to other areas. The HSE has indicated to Highland Radio News that the outsourcuing of the Coffee Dock was flagged in

The garda investigation into the killing of Derry native Andrew Allen outside Buncrana almost three weeks ago is to feature on RTE’s Crimecall programme tonight. On the night of Thursday February 9th, shots were fired through the bedroom window of his home at Links View Park in Lisfannon. The group known as Republican Action Against

North West MEP Jim Higgins is calling on the HSE  to stop employing retired staff on short term contracts while young, highly qualified people can’t get positions. He says this is happening in both in the administrative and nursing sectors. Mr Higgins says when he raised a similar issue with the Education Minister, it was

Human remains have been recovered from the River Foyle this morning. Gardai have confirmed the remains were found at Islandmore, just before the Red Bridge at Porthall in Lifford The remains are being removed for DNA analysis.  Gardai say the remains may be those of David Colhoun who’s been missing since last May, but it’s

Donegal County Council has shed the equivalent of 395 full-time staff since 2008, according to figures released this week. The number of staff employed by the local authority stood at 1,243 in June 2008, but the figure for February 2012 is now just 848 – a reduction of 32%. The local authority here has slashed

A row over funding for ferries in Donegal continues to fester after a Donegal County County meeting adjourned yesterday amid some unsavoury scenes. The row centres on the interpretation of the minutes of last months Budget meeting. €50,000 has been allocated to ferries, with Fianna Fail claiming it was agreed that all the money would

Labour Councillor Frank McBrearty has claimed that elements of Sinn Fein are responsible for threats against him and his family. Councillor McBrearty was speaking following a turbulant monthly meeting of Donegal County Council. He was accused by Sinn Fen Councillor Jack Murray of engaging in bully boy tactics in the council chamber – a charge

The Mayor of Donegal has strongly refuted claims today that he has lost control of the council chamber. There was a number of angry exchanges at today’s meeting at the County House in Lifford, and between 11 o clock and 1 o clock, the meeting had to be adjourned three times. One councilor claimed he

A County Councillor claims members of the Youth Council had to leave the council chamber in Lifford today due to the ‘antics’ of some members. Independent Cllr. John Campbell has taken to Twitter to apologise for the scenes which he described as an ‘utter disgrace’. Youth Councillors were in the chamber today to get experience

There have been heated exchanges at the County Council’s monthly meeting today over funding for Donegal’s ferries. There was an allocation for ferries contained within the council’s budget which was agreed last month. However, there is a dispute as to how much of the money is for ferry services in the Inishowen or Letterkenny electoral

Members of the Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly have pledged their full backing to the proposed establishment of a Technological University in the region. The proposal to merge the ITs at Athlone, Dundalk, Galway-Mayo, Letterkenny and Sligo, would see the Border Midlands West Technological University become the largest higher education institution in Ireland with

Enterprise Ireland says Letterkenny is well placed to benefit substantially from the latest entrepreneur recruitment campaign which has been launched today as part of the Government’s Action Plan on Jobs. The “New Frontiers” programme is geared towards helping people start their own business, with intensive training being delivered through Institutes of Technology. Meabh Conaghan is

Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue has committed to visiting the central unit for processing medical cards in Dublin this Friday to investigate why such lengthy delays exist for processing medical cards. He says he wants to see first-hand the system used for processing medical cards as part of a delegation from the Joint Oireachtas Committee for

Just a few months after its launch ‘Care to Drive’ volunteers drivers in Donegal have already provided 38 hospital lifts to ten cancer patients. The drivers are volunteers with the Irish Cancer Society’s Care to Drive scheme and pick patients up at their own homes and drop them off for their appointments. They collect them

The number of salmon in the River Foyle system continues to shrink. That’s despite the fact that drift net fishing has been banned on the system for the third year running. Now, the drift net fishermen say it’s clear they were not the problem, and they want an investigation into why stocks are still dwindling.

A new survey has found that Donegal natives have the sexiest accent in Ireland. The study reveals that 42 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men go weak at the knees for the Donegal lilt. Donegal tops this poll from Parship-dot-ie – a dating website which says one in five women believe

An entrepreneur recruitment campaign gets underway in Letterkenny today – as part of the Government’s Action Plan on Jobs. It’s part of a national programme to help people start their own business which is being rolled out at Institutes of Technology around the country, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. The Minister for Research and Innovation

The Tourism Minister has said The 2012 Irish Open in Royal Portrush represents a huge opportunity for tourism operators and businesses in  Donegal. Speaking at the Colmcille Winter School in Gartan today, Minister Varadkar urged Donegal’s tourism industry to take full advantage of all the opportunities provided by the Irish Open being held in the

Tourism Minister Leo Varadker is the keynote speaker at the Colmcille Winter School In Gartan today Saturday. This year’s event is examining whether tourism can take the lead economic recovery, with Failte Ireland’s CEO Shaun Quinn also addressing the school today. Organiser martin Egan says local hoteliers and providers have been invited to attend the

The Community Workers’ Cooperative in Donegal has published a guide to peace building outlining a number of case studies from Donegal and the North West. The guide encourages risk taking, saying that those who secure real change do so by being braver and taking the actions they believe are necessary. Project coordinator Angela Holohan says

Forty protests will take place nationwide today, in opposition to the government’s water and household charges. Organisers say the combined cost of the charges will come to 1-thousand euro per household. Hundreds are expected to gather in west Donegal later in protest at cuts to small schools. Teachers, parents and there supporters  will march from