Author name: oisinkelly

A former West Tyrone MLA has been banned from driving and fined £500 after being convicted of drink driving for a second time. Strabane District Councillor and Ulster Unionist member Derek Hussey of Garvetagh Road, Castlederg admitted driving while twice the legal limit at Strabane Magistrates Court this morning. It had been indicated that the […]

Strabane Councillor Eugene McMenamin has resigned from the SDLP. In a statement, an SDLP spokesperson confirmed the party has accepted the resignation. The statement adds that in recent years, the SDLP has invested a significant amount of time and energy in revitalising organisational structures in West Tyrone.

The Government’s preparing to announce a major overhaul of our banks – as tens of billions more Euro are going to have to be pumped into them. Stress tests will show up to 25 billion being needed, and mergers into just two banks are possible. The Tánaiste’s told the Dáil this evening’s announcements will show

Donegal Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn has attacked the Labour party in the Dail, accusing them o9f betraying the people who voted for them. Deputy Mac Lochlainn closed Sinn Fein’s Private Member’s Motion calling for the scrapping of the Universal Social Charge. As expected, Fine Gael and Labour rejected it, voting instead to review the charge,

A senior eye doctor in Donegal says the campaign to secure an OCT machine for the eye clinic in Letterkenny may help save the sight of people with diabetes. Complications as a result of diabetes are among of the leading causes of blindness in Ireland, and a specialist screening service has been rolled out to

An independent advisor has told the family of Kieran Doherty in Derry that MI5 had no connection to his death. Lord Carlisle investigated concerns about the shooting of the former Real IRA member 13 months ago. The body of 31 year old Kieran Doherty was found on Baraehead Road in Derry in February of last

An arsonist who burned the home of his neighbour escaped jail on condition that he do 240 hours community service. Judge John O’Hagan told 22-year-old Reginald Greene it was not a defence to claim provocation but at the same time he was aware “of extreme provocation over a period of time which was a mitigating

A coroner has questioned the materials being used to make mobile homes after a man  was burned to death in a fire in Gweedore. Columba Doherty had been celebrating a 21st birthday party when he returned home to his mobile home in Brinaleck on January 31st, 2008. Only the shell of the mobile home belonging

The creation of a Britsih-Irish tourism visa in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games is a priority for the Government. At present, citizens from many countries such as India and China must acquire separate holiday visas when visting Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Minister for Transport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar  says he

A man charged in connection with the murder of Michaela McAreavey has been released without charge after agreeing to turn state’s witness. Hotel room attendant Raj Theekoy had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Mrs McAreavey, the daughter of Tyrone GAA boss Mickey Harte, was murdered on her honeymoon in Mauritius in January. Two

Plans to regenerate the riverside area on the border between Strabane and Lifford has received a €1m funding boost. The ‘Reconciliation Through the Riverine Project’ which aims to transform the border area, is now one step closer following the funding announcement. An iconic shared space will be developed and will include features such as a

Sinn Féin has moved a  Private Members motion in the Dail seeking the abolition of the Universal Social Charge. Moving the motion, Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty, the party’s Finance Spokesperson said  the charge is little more than a tax on the working poor, and should be abolished. The government has promised a review,

Donegal may be forced to export its waste with the county’s last remaining landfill site expected to close next year. There are just 30,000 tonnes of capacity left at the site in Ballintra, with no alternative plan currently in place to deal with the county’s waste. At one stage Donegal had four landfill sites at

Political parties in the North are being urged to state their policy on the proposed Radiotherapy Unit at Altnagelvin before the public goes to the polls in May’s Assembly Elections. The call has been made by Co-operating for Cancer Care North West. Earlier this month the North’s Health Minister shelved plans indefinitely for the cross

Donegal anglers will renew their ongoing protest at the contentious Gweebarra River when the new salmon and sea trout season gets underway on Friday. A number of fishermen, who claim they have been fishing the river for generations, will do so again to highlight the dispute over the rights to fish in the area. The

A Coroner today told the inquest in to the death of a mother and daughter that it reflected the worst trauma he had ever come across. Martina McLernon and her teenage daughter Louise were killed instantly when a car being driven by Sean Goldrick hit a drain and flipped across a road in Gaoth Dobhair,

Driving instructors are raising concerns that the new minimum number of lessons required by learner drivers is too low. From next week – the Road Safety Authority’s Essential Driver Training scheme will come into effect. It imposes a mandatory minimum of 12 hours of lessons before you sit your driving test. However, motoring schools says

Brigadier General Gerry Hegarty is in Donegal today visiting the country’s most northerly Irish Reserve Defence Force base – in Carndonagh. The R. D. F’s  main function is to serve as back up to the defence forces and would have been called in to action during the recent cold spell The Brigadier is visited Carndonagh

Dissident republican grouping Óglaigh na hÉireann have claimed responsibility for an attempted  bomb attack in Derry. 110lb of home-made explosives were planted in a beer keg and left in a car opposite Bishop Street Courthouse in Derry on Sunday evening. Óglaigh na hÉireann have told journalist Brian Rowan that the attack was an attempt to

The Department of the Transport is in touch with the EU Commission about the immediate future of the Donegal to Dublin air service, after it emerged there will be a delay in the introduction of a new Public Service Obligation. Management at Donegal Airport are due to meet with Department of Transport officials on Monday

The Happy Matchmaker dating agency has been acquitted of introducing a woman client to men she said groped, assaulted and battered her. Annmarie McBrearty, 35, of Oldtown, Letterkenny, told Donegal District Court how she was introduced to four men without finding romance. Judge Kevin Kilrane dismissed Ms McBrearty’s claim for €6,348.99 for negligence, breach of

Figures released from Donegal County Council show that of the total amount of commercial rates due to the council last year, almost a third went unpaid. Just over 16 million euro was collected by the council in 2010, however arrears carried forward to this year total close on 9 million euro. The figures show that

A Letterkenny student had her drink spiked with Ketamine at the weekend, according to a report in today’s Donegal People’s Press. The 20 year says she was told by an Emergency Department doctor that based on the description of her symptoms, her drink had almost certainly been spiked  with the drug, which is used as

Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn says his is standing by his claims that a company working on Census 2011 has links to interrogators working at Abu Ghraib. After a Europe-wide tender process – the CSO hired CACI-UK to work on specialised parts of the census. According to Deputy MacLouchlainn, in 2004 three employees of CACI-International –

Junior Gaeltacht Minister Dinny Mc Ginley says he’ll be seeking clarification from the Department of the Environment about the immediate future of the Donegal to Dublin air service after it emerged there will be a delay in the introduc tion of a new Public Service Obligation/ The current PSO expires on July 31st, but according

A campaign has been launched by the Eye Department at Letterkenny General Hospital to raise money for a specialist machine whic h can take photographs of the inside of the eye, and help diagnose cataracts, macular degeneration and other conditions. Under the banner SOS – Save or Sight, the department is seeking to buy the

Police say the device planted near the courthouse on Bishop Street in Derry, was a substantial and viable bomb. Dozens of elderly residents were moved from a nearby sheltered housing development during the alert, which began at quarter to seven last night. A number of controlled explosions were carried out on the device. Traffic and

The CEO of Letterkenny Chamber says the government must act to broaden the discretionary revenue raising streams open to local councils. Toni Forrester was speaking after members of Letterkenny Chamber attended a briefing with County Manager Seamus Neely and Town Clerk Paddy Doherty, with a focus on council budgets. Toni Forrester says it was a

The mayor has written to every Donegal County Councillor advising them of what behavior will or will not be acceptable in to the future. Mayor Cora Harvey took the action after recent meetings were dogged by controversy due to rows amongst members. Greg Hughes reports………..

In what is thought to be a first for a county council in the history of the state, the top two position in Donegal County Council are now filled by women. Today, Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher was named as Deputy Mayor of Donegal. She replaces her Sinn Fein party colleague Padraig Mac Lochlainn following his

A security alert is continuing in the Bishops Street area of Derry after a suspicious vehicle was left in a car park close to the courthouse. Residents have been evacuated from nearby sheltered housing, and a controlled explosion was carried out  last night. It had been hoped that traffic restrictions would be eased in the

Sinn Fein Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher is set to be confirmed as Deputy Mayor of Donegal today. The election of a new Deputy Mayor is on the agenda at today’s meeting following the election to Dail Eireann of previous incumbent Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn. It is open to anyone to nominate someone for the office

There has been a significant increase in the amount of motorists in Donegal who have needed their car fixed after hitting a pothole. The figures related to members of the AA which is calling on drivers to sign a petition putting pressure on local authorities to fix the roads: The survey shows that AA members

Former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan has been named among eleven former government ministers who claimed almost 51 thousand euro in tax breaks for keeping second homes in Dublin. The ministers were entitled to claim tax relief on second homes in the capital, or on hotels or rented apartments, if they didn’t have a second property The

Up to 1,000 people marched from the centre of Derry to Altnagelvin Hospital yesterday. The march was held to protest against the north’s health minister’s decision to shelve a planned radiotherapy unit at the hospital. The march followed an earlier rally in Guildhall Square by those opposed to UK government cuts.

Gardai are investigating an alleged hit and run incident in Letterkenny in the early house of this morning. The incident occured shortly after 3am in the vacinity of the hospital roundabout and involved three vehicles. A silver BMW car crashed in to another car causing injuries to its driver and passenger, it was shunted on

The North’s Social Development Minister Alex Attwood has written to the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and Finance Minister asking for a special meeting of the Executive to discuss funding for the radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital. Alex Atwood is asking if, as money has already been allocated to the unit, it is lawful for

North West MEP Marian Harkin says the European Union is splitting apart in front of our eyes, and core countries such as Germany and France will forge ahead while deficit countries like Ireland could collapse. Ms. Harkin repeated her belief that a restructuring of Irish debt will be necessary, as the current burden is unbearable.