Author name: oisinkelly

Two PSNI officers who were called to the home of a missing person in Derry have been disciplined after failing to locate the man’s decomposing body inside the property. In September 2008, a lady reported to the PSNI that she had not seen her neighbour for over a week, PSNI officers visited the premises twice […]

The decision of George Lee to resign his Dail seat and leave Fine Gael may further delay the long awaited by election in Donegal. A by election will also be required in Dublin South, and it’s now believed the government will now abandon plans for an early summer poll in Donegal South West, and run

There are calls for more serious sentences to be introduced for attacking emergency services in the north after details emerged today of another attack on a paramedic in Derry who was attending a call out. The attack took place while the paramedic was attending the scheme of an accident at the junction of Rock Road

Deputy Niall Blaney, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on health has warned of longer hospital waiting lists and more pressure on emergency departments  if GP training places are not expanded. Under the HSE’s Primary Care Strategy it is envisaged that local community care health facilities would meet up to 95% of patients needs thus

The IMPACT trade union has stressed that a decision for council phones in Lifford to go unanswered  today is not as a result of ongoing union action but a decision taken management. People calling the council offices are being told, by way of recorded message, that the phones are not being answered as a direct

Compensation of 5.17 million euro was awarded to personal injury claimants in Donegal last year. According to preliminary year-end data from InjuriesBoard.ie. this a drop from the 2008 figure of 6.12 million euro. In total 223 awards were made by the board to claimants in Donegal last year a drop of 5 on the previous

Around 50 commuters were left stranded in the North today after the train broke down en route from Belfast to Derry. They were stuck in carriages for more than two hours when the mechanical failure occurred near Ballymoney. The engine breakdown also caused the onboard heating system to close down, leaving passengers to brave cold

It is reported that Gardai are now satisfied that a faction of the Real IRA was behind the murder of former Sinn Fein administrator-turned-spy Denis Donaldson in Glenties. Officers believe that he was shot dead by Derry-based Real IRA dissidents in a bid to create problems for the mainstream Provisional republican movement, which was initially

Strabane District Council has voted to increase its district rate by 4.35%. In real terms this means that householders paying rates on a house valued at £100,000 can expect to pay an additional £14.62 on next year’s rates bill. Deciding its budget the council decided to dedicating half a million pounds to capital development in

Donegal County Council is being urged to organise its own local emergency call centre next Christmas. A review of how the council handled the big freeze recently is continuing, but Cllr David Alcorn says the issue of problems with the call centre used over last Christmas and New Year needs to be addressed immediately. He

Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has met with Transport Minister Noel Dempsey to seek funding for the Donegal Airport  Road. The R259 is seen as an important road, both as an access route to the airport and a link road in the Lower Rosses, and Donegal County Council has included it in its propriety list

The government and Donegal County Council could be on a legal collision course after it emerged that work on the Greencastle Harbour Project will cease before the month’s end. Notice will be served to staff employed on the project from next week and now questions are being asked as to who is liable for the

Some of Donegal’s most scenic areas could be the home of wind farms if proposals to make Donegal the wind energy capital of Ireland come to pass. Donegal County Council has heard two motions calling for the county development plan to be changed to allow wind farm development on land designated as being a especially

The Community Workers Cooperative in Letterkenny is welcoming the signing of the agreement at Hillsborough last week, saying it paves the way for a major breakthrough in cross border community relations. While the focus has been on policing and justice, the agreement also contains a commitment to revisit outstanding issues from previous agreements. This includes

Councillors in Donegal are finding their meetings are being restricted as a result of the public service work to rule. Donegal County Council’s meetings are having to end early, and Letterkenny Town Council’s monthly meeting was adjourned last night. This because the usual support services from staff were not available as the meeting was being

Meanwhile Donegal County Council is awaiting further details on contentious plans for a wind farm near Glenties comprising of up to 35 turbines before deciding if the project can go ahead. In total, 63 objections have been made against the proposed development, mainly on the grounds of its scale, visual impact, noise and other risks.

Deputy Niall Blaney has been responding to the slating he has received since commenting on the lost at sea scheme in the Dail, stating he stands by everything he said. The Byrne family from Donegal were furious when Deputy Blaney said they had been mislead by MEP Jim Higgin’s in thinking they could qualify for

Siptu is playing down talk of a major job loss announcement from Letterkenny based company Medisize. Late last year the company said it was seeking to cut its payroll – with reports up to 25 jobs losses being sought. The company sid a restructuring programme will be necessary to improve competitiveness and help secure the

The Sinn Fein President says the latest threat to his life is not going to deter him from doing what he has been elected to do. Last night the PSNI informed Gerry Adams that the threat level against him was ‘very high’. Sinn Fein says the threats are being taken very seriously but will not

The Greencastle Harbour Users’ Committee is to ramp-up its campaign to have a government decision to abandon the harbour’s development reversed. A series of meetings with politicians have been held over the last number of days in reaction to the news that the government is withdrawing from the multi million euro project because of budget

Donegal County Council has expressed grave concern at the extent of youth unemployment in the county, with recent figures showing that over a quarter of the people signing on the Live Register are under 25. The issue was raised by Cllr Mick Quinn, who wants the council to coordinate a meeting of all the development

There are more job losses on the horizon in Donegal, with Medisize in Letterkenny set to cut its workforce by over 10%. The company, which employs 170 workers at its High Road plant, is understood to be seeking up to 25 job losses. It emerged before Christmas that Medisize is seeking to cut its payroll.

The INLA is expected to confirm later today that it has decommissioned its weapons. The republican paramilitary group is believed to have been responsible for 111 murders from its formation in 1975 until its ceasefire in 1998. It was behind one of Northern Ireland’s worst atrocities when it killed 17 people in a bomb attack

Letterkenny Town Council is being asked to support county council attempts to take ownership of the former army barracks in Rockhill and Lifford. County Manager Michael Mc Loone has already begun a series of consultations with the Department of Defence with a view towards securing ownership of both facilities. Tonight, Cllr Dessie Larkin will ask

Retail Ireland is calling on all local authorities to give retailers a 10 per cent rebate on commercial rates bill. The group says such a measure is necessary given that thousands of retail jobs have been lost over the last year and retailers are struggling to avoid further redundancies. Chairperson Torlach Denihan says the pay

In a surprise development, the North’s Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has been e3lected as leader of the SDLP, replacing Foyle MP Mark Durkan, who stepped down last evening. Mr Durkan says he plans to concentrate his energies on representing the Foyle constituency at Westminister. Ms Ritchie defeated South Belfast MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell in

Foyle MP Mark Durkan steps down as the leader of the SDLP today, after a decade at the helm. The 49 year old delivers his final address at the party conference in Newcastle, Co Down this afternoon. The outcome of a leadership battle between Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie and South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell

Fine Gael Donegal South West Deputy Dinny McGinley has renewed his call for action on youth employment following the release of new Live Register figures showing well over 21,000 people signing on in Donegal. He says the figures, which show an increase of 725 during the month of January, are staggering, particularly as more than

The war of words between Donegal Deputy Niall Blaney and MEP JIm Higgins over the Lost at Sea scheme rumbles on today. On Thursday Deputy Blaney suggested that Jim Higgins had mislead the Byrne family, from Donegal in believing they were entitled to compensation under the lost at sea scheme. An Ombudsman’s report found they

Latest Live Register figures for Donegal show the number signing on in the county is still well above 20,000. There were 21,473 on the register at the end of last month, 725 more than December and 4,717 more than January 2009. The highest year on year increase were recorded in Letterkenny, with 1,375 signing on

Gardai have reopened their investigation into a fire at a church near Doe Castle two years ago. A number of fires were set in Cashel Church of Ireland on the night of the 16th and 17th of January, 2008. Local Sergeant Christy Galligan says they are particularly anxious to trace the movements of two men

A man jailed for arranging sham marriages in Derry has launched a legal bid to avoid deportation to Nigeria. 32 year-old Alexander Success is seeking a judicial review of the decision to return him to his home country. Mr Success, from Waterfoot Park in Derry, pleaded guilty in 2007 to organising bogus marriages at registry

There’s been a seizure of illegally imported kerosene in Donegal. Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service in Letterkenny, backed by officers from Sligo, this week detained an oil tanker carrying kerosene which had illegally imported from Northern Ireland. In a follow up search of three premises, officers detained further quantities of illegally imported oil. A total

The family whose complaint sparked an investigation into the ‘lost at sea scheme’ has launched a scathing attack on Deputy Niall Blaney after he claimed they had been misled. In the Dail yesterday Deputy Blaney also question the independence of the Ombudsman whose report said the scheme was flawed and that the Byrne’s should recived

A man in his 40’s who was arrested following an incident between Stranorlar and Convoy on Tuesday night will appear at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin this morning. Gardai stopped a car aftetr four men were seen acting suspiciously. One man was arrested at the scene, three others fled across fields, and a search

Dr James McDaid  says the banning of headshops is not the way forward. He said he believes the country is on the verge of making a huge mistake if such shops are banned. Deputy McDaid, who is also a GP, says it isn’t the way to tackle drug problems. He says doing so will not

Coroner Dr Denis McCauley has warned that he must see progress in the Garda inquiry into the murder of Republican double agent Denis Donaldson within six months. He agreed to further adjourn the inquest but wouldn’t go as far as the gardai sought – a minimum of nine months. He explained that when a Supt

Donegal Deputy Niall Blaney has called into question the independence of the Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly and her report into the lost at sea scheme. The Byrne Family, from Donegal, lost a father and son when their boat sank in 1981 – three other crewmen also perished. The Ombudsman found they were wrongly excluded from the

Cllr Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has criticised the government for what he’s terming a lack of business investment in Inishowen. The Buncrana based councillor says IDA officials locally have indicated that they have been asked to focus on attracting investment to Letterkenny. Out of 1700 site visits by the IDA last year, only three were to

The IFA in Donegal is welcoming confirmation of a compensation scheme for farmers who suffered damage to potatoes and vegetable crops during the severe frost in December and January. The government says the scheme is designed to provide a limited and targeted financial contribution to certain potato and vegetable growers who suffered losses of at

The Ombudsman says that despite her best efforts, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries continues to dispute her findings and recommendations relating to the lost at sea scheme. Emily O’Reilly made her comments as the Dail prepares to hear statements on the scheme today. In a statement the Ombudsman has said that the Oireachtas has

As a number of local communities in Donegal protest at the removal of Bus Eireann services, the Citizens Information Board says Ireland’s ”fragmented” transport system is contibuting to social exclusion for people with disabilities and those living in rural areas. A new report, being published later today, is recommending the Government target resources more efficiently

A major garda search operation is continuing between Stranorlar and Convoy after three men fled from a garda checkpoint last night. At around seven o’clock, gardai stopped a car in which they say four men were seen acting suspiciously. One man was arrested at the scene and brought to Letterkenny Garda Station. Three men fled

While the number of redundancy’s in Donegal fell last month compared to January 2009 the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association says the figure is still too high. 122 people were made redundant in the county in January, a reduction of 73 or 60% on the figure for the same period in 2009. On a

The General Officer Commanding the 4th Western Brigade says barracks closures in Donegal were achieved at minimal cost to the tax payer, and the army’s responsibilities were carried out well within budget. Brigadier General Gerry Hegarty is in the North West for a two day tour during which he is meeting with members of the

There are calls for the government to establish a temporary passport office in the North–West. The ongoing industrial action means that the passport office in Dublin is not fast tracking passport applications submitted by Oireachtas members on behalf of their constituents. Raising the issue Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh says those in desperate need of a

Car sales n Donegal are on the increase. The number of cars sold in Donegal last month was 394, that is an increase of 50 or 14’5%  on January 2009. This is one of the largest increases in the country and treble the national average. Sales of light commercial vans doubled – 76 sold last