Author name: oisinkelly

Mica Action Donegal is seeking Government intervention with banks to support Mica affected homeowners meet the required 10% contribution. Lenders have been lobbied to offer 0% interest loans for fixing homes, restructure existing mortgages to support zero increase in monthly repayments and in the case of homeowners who don’t have sufficient money to contribute towards

  A wildlife sanctuary is set to open to the public in South Inishowen later this week, featuring bears, wolves, lynx and other species previously native to Ireland but now extinct here. The Wild Ireland facility at Dundrain, Burnfoot is the creation of Killian Mc Laughlin, a Buncrana native who has worked in the legal

  There’s been an attempted weekend burglary in Manorcunningham. The incident happened in Raymoghy area on Friday evening between 7.30pm and 10pm. There was no attempt made at entry to the house itself but an attempt was made to enter a shed on the property. A lock was broken off the door but entry was

    It’s been confirmed that the Mica Scheme is currently with the Attorney General for final review and sign off before being handed to Donegal County Council for implementation. The Government has also approved a budget of 580m euro for the scheme, that should homeowners spend the 40 million euro allocated, they will be

  Serious concern has been raised over what’s been described as ‘abysmal conditions’ at Crana College in Buncrana. Overcrowding, overuse of prefabs and inadequate facilities are all said to be putting the well being of both pupils and staff at risk. Hopes of a long awaited three school campus have been completely dashed as the ideal

  It will be well into 2020 before the first abortions and same-sex marriages take place in Northern Ireland, according to Amnesty International. After the UK government’s intervention, it was confirmed at midnight last night that pregnancy terminations would be decriminalised and marriage equality would be introduced. Some politicians protested against the changes at Stormont

  A £27m North West Transport Hub has opened in Derry. The hub is located on the site of the city’s former Victorian railway station, a listed building which had been closed in 1980. It’s anticipated that state-of-the-art facility will increase connectivity across the north west and provide a huge economic boost to the city.

    Same sex marriage and abortion are set to become legal in Northern Ireland at midnight. MPs at Westminster voted to decriminalise both – unless a new power-sharing government is in place at Stormont by the end of today. MLAs will sit in the Assembly chamber there for the first time in almost three

A commercial rates revaluation is due to commence in Donegal in November. The county is one of a few remaining local authorities that has never carried out a review of commercial rates. Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher says revaluations in other counties have resulted in 45% of businesses experiencing a reduction in rates. Deputy

Donegal Local Action Group is to be offered an additional €500,000 in funding. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, announced today the distribution of €5 million in additional funding for ten areas that are most advanced in the delivery of the LEADER Programme. The funding is in addition to the existing budget of €220

Fianna Fail Deputy Charlie McConalogue has condemned the actions of his party colleagues in the Dail on Thursday last. Two separate investigations are underway after it emerged Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins voted six times for fellow Fianna Fail colleague Timmy Dooley when he wasn’t in the chamber. The party’s Brexit spokesperson Lisa Chambers has also

Latest figures show that Letterkenny Institute of Technology has the highest number of students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Higher Education Authority has found that 24% of students at LYIT are from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds compared to 4% from affluent backgrounds. Nationally, only 10% of students at third level are from disadvantaged backgrounds. That drops

The Stormont Assembly will sit for the first time in more than two-and-a-half years today. But it’s just a symbolic move, because it can’t fulfil its function without a power sharing executive in place. The British Government will introduce new laws on abortion and same-sex marriage unless devolution is restored by midnight. People Before Profit

AbbVie is to launch its Back to School STEM programme in Donegal today. The programme aims to promote an interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and maths for students. As part of the campaign, visits from STEM employees from across the country will be carried out, including at St Naul’s National School, Inver this

Truck drivers who staged a demonstration at the border say they wanted to highlight the chaos that customs checks could bring. Over 100 truck drivers came to a standstill at the Donegal/Derry border yesterday to show what a hard-border would look like. George Mills from the Irish Road Haulage Association says there are about 13,800

The HSE spent nearly 7 million euro on private ambulances in the first 8 months of this year. Letterkenny University Hospital had the biggest bill, at just over €1 million. The overall figure has increased steadily in recent years, with 4.3 million spent in all of 2014. Over €2.8 million has been spent throughout the

The volunteer crew of the Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat was requested to launch to a dive boat which had broken down off St John’s Point on this afternoon. The lifeboat crew, who had just returned from exercise, set out for the scene at the Bullockmore west cardinal marker just west of St John’s Point. The main