Author name: oisinkelly

The AA says the new speed cameras being rolled out at collision blackspots next week are not a money making venture. The Association says the experience in other countries, including France and Sweden, is that they have reduced fatalities by almost a third in blackspot areas. 45 new gatso vans will be based at 600 […]

Fine Gael’s Health spokesperson Deputy James Reily has said he has no faith in NAMA ensuring that work on the new Letterkenny Genera Hospital emergency department will be completed. McNamara construction,  building the new departmen\ at the Hospital has ceased work on all it’s current projects and a receiver has been appointed by NAMA to

Nominations in the Donegal South West by-election, have now closed. Candidates now have 24 hours to take their names off the ballot paper before the line up is confirmed. Six candidates have officially declared their intention to run in the Donegal South West by-election on Thursday November 25th. No further nominations were recieved before today’s

Fine Gael’s Health Spokesperson Dr James Reilly, has said he is strongly against any cuts to the pension in next months budget. His comments come a day after his party leader Enda Kenny refused to give any indication as to whether or not Fine Gael propose cutting the pension. Deputy Kenny said that his proposals

Buncrana Town Council is to establish a ‘Economic Development Group’ in an effort to attract and develop small and medium sized business to Inishowen. The IDA recently stated that its sole focues in attracting direct investment into Donegal would be in Letterkenny. The association signed over land and property across the country to the council

As the clean up operation continues today, the full extend of last nights damage as begun to emerge. The ESB has said North Donegal was the worst hit area in the country, and there was 600 outtages overnight. An ESB spokesperson said that most of the outtages have been now restored in the past half

The north and west bore the brunt of gales last night, with flash floods and trees brought down. Donegal was hit by flash floods on tributaries of the River Finn with several cars stuck in water which closed the N15 between Ballybofey and Lifford. A small river burst its banks near the Roadhouse Bar near

Up to 50 workers were turned away at the construction site of the new A&E unit at Letterkenny General this morning. The company building the new A&E unit at the Hospital has ceased work on all it’s current projects. It’s been confirmed that a receiver has been appointed to a flagship company formerly owned by

Fine Gael’s Donegal South West by-election candidate Cllr Barry O’Neill has said that Fine Gael in government will restore cancer services to Sligo General Hospital. Cllr O’Neill told a press conference today that the network of centres of excellence has condemned patients in the North West to lengthy journies at the worst possible time in

A spokesperson for Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan says Fine Gael claims that Letterkenny and Sligo Institutes of Technology may be amalgamated are “completely untrue”. The issue was raised by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny during a press conference in Donegal Town this afternoon. Attacking Ms Coughlan’s record, he said she had let the

The ESB has indicated that up to 3,000 homes are without power in the county as high winds lash the county this afternoon. The worst of the problems are being experienced in the area of Milford, Kilmacrennan and Termon, with some outages on the outskirts of Letterkenny. Problems have also been reported in the vicinity

It’s being claimed that the proposed cross-border radiotherapy unit for Altnagelvin Hospital has been put back by a year. It’s understood that a North South Ministerial Council meeting on health yesterday discussed changing the target date for the unit from 2015 to 2016. Derry MLA Martina Anderson has called on the North’s Health Minister, Michael

A man was found dead in his Derry home by a neighbour yesterday evening. The alarm was raised after a taxi driver called at the door of the property in the Creggan and the man failed to answer. Police and fire crews are trying to establish how he died. Local Councillor, Kevin Campbell, says neighbours

A sixth candidate has declared in the Donegal South West by-election. Ann Sweeney from Dunfanaghy has submitted her nomination papers, and will run as an independent candidate. She is the founder of the “New Island Party”, which she describes as a concept rather than an organisation. She says she wants it to act as a

Donegal County Council is exploring a number of options for the disposal of 34 whale carcasses, after a plan to bury them on the Rutland Island beach where they washed up was abandoned yesterday. Specialist equipment had been brought to Burtonport yesterday morning, but following concerns from local people, it was decided to postpone the

igh winds and rain are expected to batter the country today. Met Eireann has put in place a severe weather warning, after a deep depression came in from the Atlantic overnight. The West and North West is expected to bear the brunt of the bad weather. Forecaster with Met Eireann John Eagleton says it will

Up to 32 new jobs could be on the cards for Buncrana is imminent. An online ticketing agency is looking at a premises in the town, and it’s expected a formal announcement could be made in the very near future. Buncrana Councillor Lee Tedstone has been working closely with the company, and is confident this

Buncrana Town Council has followed through with its commitment to crack down on those not paying their parking fines with the first traunch of cases before the courts today. In March it emerged that 700 parking fines had not been paid, these included drivers with multiple outstanding fines. Of the 700 hundred fines issued 500

Plans to bury up to 35 dead whales on the beach ast Rutland Island have been postponed after local people expressed concerns. The massive pod of Long-Finned Pilot Whales was found last weekend. It is still unclear how the whales, who had been swimming in the area for days, had died. After securing a licence,

Labour’s Donegal South West by-election candidate has today insisted that his party will lead the next government with Eamon Gilmore the next Taoseach. Councillor Frank McBrearty has rejected the general opinion that Fine Gael will be the top party after the next General Election stating that it will be labour that will hold the most

Gardai are reporting a marked increase in the theft of metal cabling, manhole covers and cars. Last month, telecoms cabling was cut down and taken in a number of locations around the county, and now there are reports of manhole covers and other metal items being stolen. Garda Sergeant Paul Wallace believes the thefts are

Gardai are seeking the public’s help in relation to a number of burglaries in the Gortnablagh and Carrigart areas. A number of holiday homes in secluded areas have been targeted with items such as garden furniture and a child’s motorbike taken. Property on the Salt Hill Road has also been targeted in recent weeks. Garda

The Head of the Letterkenny Tidy Towns committee says the future of the group may have to be considered if the council does not act to remove illegal signage in the town. The council will hear a motion next week calling for the introduction of a by-law which would make it illegal for sandwich boards

The Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) says lenders are rejecting between 60% and 80% of mortgage applications. The Association says first-time buyers and the self-employed were being hit-hardest by the credit squeeze. The body also found that over 77% of brokers said the situation was “much worse” than last year, while 19% felt there was

A replica firearm was found in a car in which three men from the North charged with membership of the IRA where travelling when arrested, the Special Criminal Court has heard yesterday. Gardaí also uncovered other items after a search of the vehicle, including cable ties, latex gloves and insulation tape. 58-year-old Desmond Donnelly of

Students have claimed that the government has deliberately attempted to exclude them from the Donegal South West election. There have been complaints that thousands of students from the constituency may be without a ballot. Students are claiming the government deliberately fixed a Thursday for the by-election so they couldn’t leave their studies and get home

A judge said he could not take revenge on a driver who killed his girlfriend and baby daughter and ordered him to do 240 hours community service. Christopher Hanlon, now 21, had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of his 16 year old partner and 3 month old daughter in Co Donegal on

A 43-year-old man has died in a traffic accident involving two lorries in County Tyrone. It happened on the Melmount Road in Strabane at about half past three this morning. Another man was taken to hospital with lower leg injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening. A police spokesperson said the road, which is

A couple in their late 80s are spearheading a court campaign against noise from the Dodge Nightclub in West Donegal, less than two years after they fought a similar legal battle when it was called Voodoo. Judge Seamus Hughes was told today that the Voodoo owner closed the club and left it in 2009 but

A police investigation is underway after a man in his 40s was rescued from a house fire in Derry this morning. The fire, which is being treated as suspicious, was reported just after 5 o’clock at Cavanagh Court in the Ballymagroarty area. The man was alone in the house in an upstairs bedroom when the

We are receiving unofficial reports that staff at Medisize Donegal Healthcare have been told that 37 jobs will go at the plant by the end of next February. Staff have been on protective notice for a week, and our understanding is that today, management said 12 people would lose their jobs by christmas, and the

The SDLP Health Spokesperson is calling for the publication of a report on cross border cooperation in health. Fermanagh South Tyrone MLA Tommy Gallagher says the report was compiled in 2007, but Health Minister Michael Mc Gimpsey refuses to publish it. Much of the report, it’s understood, focusses on the North West cross border radiotherapy

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Arranmore Disaster in which 19 people lost their lives, six of them members of one family. 17 of the bodies were recovered and are buried on a communal grave on the island. Today’s commemorations begin with the laying of a wreath at sea at the spot where the

A decision has yet to be reached on how the authorities will dispose of the remains of 33 pilot whales found dead on a beach on Rutland Island near Burtonport on Saturday. The operation is being headed by Donegal County Council’s Water and Environmental section who are liasing with a number of groups including the

A man who was ordered to climb Croagh Patrick after telling a Garda to f*** off back to Mayo has raised almost €3,000 for charity after completing the hike with 13 friends. Joseph McElwee was ordered to climb the mountain in Co Mayo by Judge Seamus Hughes after being found guilty of threatening and abusing

The sole declared independent candidate for the Donegal South West by-election has said he will use the time saved, by being omitted from a national pre-election debate, to campaign on the ground. Councillor Thomas Pringle was omitted from an RTE radio debate last week and has not been invited to join a debate on TV3

Letterkenny Town Council is to hear calls for sandwich boards, advertising businesses services, to be banned for the town. Councillor Tom Crossan is to raise the issue when the council next meets – he believes that the sandwich boards on the footpaths are a hazard and want a by-law introduced making them illegal. Councillor Crossan

West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty says parking enforcement arrangements in Strabane town centre need to be relaxed in the run up to Christmas in an effort to boost town centre business. Strabane has one of the highest rates of parking tickets handed out in Northern Ireland. And just last week, Strabane Chamber of Commerce were

It’s been claimed the imminent by-election in Donegal is set to turn into a very costly affair for the taxpayer and come with a final bill of more than €300,000. The recent Dublin South by-election cost €212,136, according to newly published figures from the Department of Finance. The by-election in Donegal South West will come

Efforts will be made today to remove 33 pilot whales found dead off on Rutland Island near Burtonport in Co. Donegal. A team from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology were on site yesterday to try to determine why the whales beached. Locals say the whales had been feeding in the area since Tuesday. Dr.Simon Berrow

The Government is coming under fire for appointing the Social Protection Minister as Fianna Fail’s campaign manager in the Donegal South West by-election. Eamon O’Cuiv will head up the three week election campaign, as political parties fight it out to win the seat, vacated by Fianna’s Fail’s Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher in June last year.

Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has been chosen as the Fianna Fail candidate for the Donegal South West by-election on ThursdayNovember 25th. The 33 year old’s candidature was confirmed at a selection convention in Glenties this evening attended by Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Tanaiste Mary Coughlan. Addressing delegates, Senator O’Domnaill said difficult decisions have to be taken

Submarines may have caused the deaths of 35 whales off the coast of Co Donegal, a whale expert has claimed. The dead creatures were found beached on Rutland Island near the fishing village of Burtonport on Saturday morning by ferry operator Seamus Boyle. Last night Dr.Simon Berrow from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said

The Mayor of Buncrana says there’s a sporot of cooperation and optimism beginning to emerge in Inishowen, and he was to see that thrive. Cllr Padraig Mac Lochlainn was speaking after a meeting between councillors and the development agencies, at which the IDA repeated assurances that while they will not be actively marketting areas outside

Latest Live Register figures show there were 20,994 people signing on in Donegal at the end of October. In line with the national trend, that’s down 339 on the September figure. However, year on year, the figures continue to increase, with 1,180 more people on the register in Donegal at the end of last month

A difference of opinion has emerged between Fianna Fail MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher and Tanaiste Mary Coughlan over whether or not Mr Gallagher was asked yesterday by senior Fianna Fail figures to stand in this month’s Donegal South West by-election. He says it’s understandable why she was not consulted, as she has to consider

Labour Councillor Frank Mc Brearty Jnr has apologised for the use inappropriate language during exchanges with County Manager Seamus Neely at County House in Lifford. At a meeting on October 26th, Cllr Mc Brearty attempted to ask questions during Managers’ Orders, and when he was prevented from doing so, he reacted angrily. After the meeting

As Fianna Fail delegates gather on Sunday to select their candidate for the Donegal South West by-election, according to one minister they are wasting their time. During his now infamous address to the McGill Summer School in Glenties Minister Noel Dempsey said that  grass roots party members would be wrong in thinking it was they

A Fine Gael organised Cross Border Forum on tourism will be held in Donegal town on Saturday. The event, in the Abbey Hotel  will be attended by the party leader Enda Kenny while Tom Elliott MLA, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party will also speak at the Forum. This will be his first public address

The SDLP’s Mark Durkan is to be replaced at Stormont by his political advisor Pól Callaghan. On Tuesday the leader on Derry City Council, Helen Quigley pulled out of the race while Mark H Durkan, nephew of the MP, yesterday stood aside leaving the way clear for Mr Callagher. Pol Callaghan, originally from Letterkenny, says