Author name: oisinkelly

Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle says he will not be returning his Leaders’ Allowance of just over €41,000. Deputy Pringle says he has always maintained payments to politicians are extremely high in Ireland and should be reformed. He says as chairperson of the Members Interests Committee in the Dail he is entitled to an increase in […]

The Killybegs Employment Project are to hold protests against proposed cuts to Community Employment Schemes. The government announced a 66% cut in funding as part of Budget 2012. It’s claimed that many who have participated in the Killybegs scheme in the past have went on to further education or training, or become self-employed. But as

The newly elected President of Letterkenny Chamber says one of his key aims it to keep pressure on local TDs and councils to create the best environment for business here in the North West John Watson of Watson Tool Hire replaces Patrick McGinley as he chamber’s President. Mr. Watson said he was very much looking

Derry will bid to host the All-Ireland Fleadh in 2013 after a sometimes contentious debate. At a meeting in the city last night, Comhaltas delegates voted 13 to1 in favour of the bid. Some delegates from South Derry did not attend the meeting, having earlier voiced concern that the bid for nexgt year was being

Anyone with symptoms of the winter vomiting bug are now being asked to avoid Letterkenny General Hospital unless absolutely necessary. The Management of the hospital has also re-issued an advisory that visiting restrictions are in place at Surgical 1 ward due to suspected cases of the bug . As well as the visiting restrictions the

A Derry man beat his 11-year-old son repeatedly with a cable because he broke a school window, it has been claimed in the High Court. Prosecutors said welts and severe bruising were inflicted on the boy’s arms and legs before his mother intervened to stop the attack. His 30-year-old father, who cannot be named for

Donegal County Council is to empty some Effluent Treatment Tanks serving private estates in Donegal in cases where the tanks are causing a public health nuisance. A meeting of the Stranorlar Electoral Area has been told that there are problems in a number of estates where developers are no longer managing the waste treatment systems,

A Romanian man has appeared at Derry Magistrates’ Court on a prostitution charge. 25 year-old Razan Nocolae Gros of Kular Court in the city’s William Street was charged with controlling the activities of a Romanian woman for the purposes of prostitution. Mr Gros, who police suspect is also active in prostitution in the Donegal, was

Doubt has been cast today on a statement by the Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch that the new Emergency Department at Letterkenny General will be ready for use by June or July. However, speaking on ‘The Shaun Doherty Show’ today the hospital manager said they were working towards those dates, but there could be no

Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn has expressed his shock at claims by the HSE that the current Emergency Department at Letterkenny General has been performing well in recent months. Following confirmation the news E.D will open in the summer, the Dail was told an assessment by the Special Delivery Unit of the HSE  found the current Emergency

Calls have been made for the Minister for Agriculture to immediately open the slurry spreading season in Donegal. Senator Brian O’Domnhaill said that dairy and cattle farmers in the Northwest are under severe pressure as their slurry storage nears capacity. The season for Zone C, which covers Counties Cavan, Leitrim, Monaghan and Donegal, doesn’t begin

A new satellite broadband service is to be rolled out in areas in West Tyrone and Fermanagh that currently are without the service. A new high speed satellite service called Onwave will provide satellite broadband to areas that do not have access by telephone lines. The news was announced today in the Assembly by the

Two people are to be honoured as Donegal Person of the Year following the announcement of the award by the Donegal Association in Dublin last night. For the first time, the award has been given to two people, distance swimmer Anne Marie Ward and New Zealand based businessman Hugh Green. The outgoing holder of the

An inquest into the death of a garda in Inishowen has returned a verdict of unlawful killing. 24 year old Garda Gary McLoughlin died 24 hours after the garda car he was driving was struck by a car being driven by 26 year old  Martin McDermott from Castlegrove, Raphoe. Mc Dermott, who was found to

Letterkenny Town Council is urging gardai to enforce the yellow box at the junction of High Road, Justice Walsh Road, Port Road and Upper Main Street. The issue was raised by Cllr Tadhg Culbert, who said cars which illegally stop in the yellow box are holding up other vehicles, particularly coming down the High Road.

People in Donegal are being asked their views on how the location of mobile phone masts should be regulated in the new County Development Plan. This week, the council met in special session to discuss the document which will outline how the county should develop from now to 2018. A number of Fine Gael and

It has been confirmed that the new Emergency Department at Letterkenny General will be opened and operational in either June or July of this year. The news was delivered in the Dail along with an assessment by the Special Delivery Unit of the HSE which found the current Emergency Department at Letterkenny General has been

Police admit they are puzzled by the ‘motiveless’ murder of Inishowen man William McKeeney in Glasgow street William McKeeney was just yards from his flat when he was the victim of a “sustained and violent” attack by two men. The 57 year old, originally from Malin Head,  had moved to Glasgow a few years ago

The management at Letterkenny General Hospital wishes to advise that visiting restrictions are in place at surgical one ward in the hospital due to suspected cases of the winter vomiting bug (also known as Norovirus). Arrangements will be made for family members of patients on the affected ward to visit and this should be arranged

Sinn Fein has been accused of engaging in opportunistic politics by one of the organisers of Donegal’s  ‘Can’t Pay Won’t Pay’ campaign. Cllr Jack Murray claims he was badgered off the stage at a meeting of the campaign in Burt last night by Francis McCafferty who organised the event. The Councillor says he and his

Police in Derry are treating an attack at a home in the city as a hate crime. Two men broke into a house in the Kilfennan estate just before 6 o clock yesterday evening in what has been described as racist attack. A 35-year-old woman was alone in the house at the time of the

A Sinn Fein Councillor has hit out after he was verbally abused at a ‘Cant Pay Wont Pay’ public meeting in Burt. Cllr Jack Murray claims he was badgered off the stage by the organiser of the meeting before he even got a chance to speak. He has said that he and his party are

Three new people in Donegal will be diagnosed with dementia or Alzhemer’s Disease every week, with 10% of all people with the condition under 65. That statistic was presented to Letterkenny Town Council last night by Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh, who called for all public buildings to be made more user friendly for people with such

Opposition parties and Age Action Ireland have criticised the HSE service plan for the coming year. Fianna Fail Deputy Charlie McConalogue says it is inevitable that community and acute hospital beds in Donegal will close this year further diminishing frontline services in the county. While no county breakdown was given the HSE’s service plan yesterday

The Donegal County Council Manager is encouraging members of the public to engage with the County Development Plan once it goes to consultation. After councillors made a number of amendments to the draft plan, the document  will now go to public consultation within the next three weeks. The public consultation phase itself will last four

A witness in the trial of Donegal man accused of raping his female house mate said she noticed bruising to the victim’s eye and bleeding on her ankles after the alleged attack. The 38-year-old has pleaded not guilty to orally raping and sexually assaulting the woman on October 30, 2010. The witness told a jury

Letterkenny Town Council is calling on Environment Minister Phil Hogan to withdraw fundiny from IBAL, the Irish Business Against Litter group. The issue was raised by Cllr Dessie Larkin, who said that unlike the Tidy Towns judges, IBAL will not engage with the council, and its judging takes place in secret. IBAL receives €70,000 in

Donegal County Council yesterday agreed to ban fracking in its new County Development Plan. Fine Gael Cllr Barry O’Neill voiced his complete opposition to fracking taking place in the county. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial technique to extract natural gas from the ground, Clare County Council and Leitrim County Councils have already moved

A man has appeared in court in Derry charged with possessing a hatchet in the Strathfoyle area of the city on Friday. Mark John Rush (44) of 39, Dereen Drive in the city was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place namely the Clonmeen Drive area of Strathfoyle on January 13. A

A cross-party deputation from Donegal County Council are to seek a meeting with the Environment Minister, Phil Hogan, as a matter of urgency. Fianna Fail Party Whip, Cllr, Ciaran Brogan, made the call at todays Draft County Donegal Development Plan meeting. His call was backed by all parties and Councillors. The Council has already written

Hospital beds are to close across the country – but the H-S-E says it’s too early to say how many. Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim currently have 331 acute hospital beds – that number will be reduced by 15 in 2012. The Executives’s also closing at least 555 public nursing home beds – in a bid

Following the demolition of the old Hamilton Shirt Factory in Derry at the weekend, thoughts in the city are now turning to what happens next on the site. Cllr Paul Fleming is Chair of Derry City Council’s Planning Committee – He says he’d like to see something done in time for the City of Culture

Inishowen’s two TDs are urging Failte Ireland to ensure that a self drive tourism initiative being planned for the Western Seaboard incorporates the peninsula. Last week, Failte Ireland unveiled plans for the “Wild Atlantic Drive”, a self drive route stretching from Sliabh League to West Cork. Now, Sinn Fein Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn has written

A murder investigation has been launched in Glasgow following the death of an Inishowen man following what’s been described by police as an unprovoked attack. 57 year old William McKeeney, originally from Malin Head,  was attacked by two men close to his home on  Melville Street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow at around 12.40am

Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh says he believes a major tourism project could shortly be announced for Letterkenny. In a message to party members, he says he is confident that in the coming weeks, a forestry site close to Letterkenny will be confirmed by Coillte as a centre for off-road biking tourism. He

The Foyle Road in Derry is open again after the former Hamilton Shirt Factory was demolished at the weekend. The road was closed on Thursday night after the building was judged to be structurally unsafe. A demolition order was issued on Friday after discussions between the DOE Planning Service and Derry City Council.

The latest AA Ireland survey, released today, spells more bad news for motorists. It shows there’s been a sharp rise in the cost of both petrol and diesel since December. Petrol is up 7 cent to 154.9 cent per litre while, diesel – up 6.2 cent to an average of 153.1 cent. It’s one of

Police in Derry have charged a 44 year old man with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. He is due to appear in Derry Magistrate Court tomorrow. The charges follow reports yesterday that police had been called following claims that children were being chased with a hatchet  in the Clonmeen Drive area

The Dodge Nightclub in Gweedore has issued a brief statement rejecting claims that the venue was closed by gardai because it doesn’t hold a current liquor licence. There was anger locally when revellers were informed last night shortly after 12.30am, that the night club was being closed and they would have to leave. It has

Bundoran lifeboat has had its first call-out of the year to assist a surfer in trouble at Tullan Strand. The surfer got into difficulty around 4pm on Saturday after his surf board snapped, his friend immediately called the emergency services and Bundoran Lifeboat Crew were tasked to the scene. The crew were on scene within

Police in Derry are appealing for information following an incident in the Clonmeen Drive area yesterday (Friday). A report was received at approx 9.50pm of a man armed with a hatchet chasing local children in the street. Armed response officers were tasked to the scene and a 44 year old man was taken into police

A new survey shows that house prices in Donegal fell over 17% last year. The Irish Times House Price Guide for 2012 will be published tomorrow and gives a detailed break down of the decline of the property market Donegal since 2007. A second-hand 2-bed apartment in 2007 cost €145,000 and is expected fetch €60,000

Donegal students collected a total of ten awards at this year’s BT Young Scientist Exhibition. Eoin Farrell of St. Eunan’s College was announced as one of the Top Four Award Winners entitled Best Individual Award. He also collected the Health Research Board special award for his project on Paediatric resuscitation – he asked and examined

The owner of a Donegal house, which was the scene of an alleged rape and sexual assault, has denied that she didn’t take the accusations seriously. The house owner, who did not live in County Donegal, told a jury on day-three of the trial that she received an email from the alleged victim’s father, who