Author name: oisinkelly

Parents could again face increased childcare costs. A new report has warned rising wages will also push up the cost of childcare. Rents and house prices are also likely to continue to rise. Frances Byrne from Early Childhood Ireland says there needs to be more government investment in childcare:

A cross border project which brings young people from together has celebrated its first anniversary this week, after providing personal development and training to around 200 young people from across Northern Ireland, as well as counties Donegal and Cavan. The Third Space project is backed by the EU’s Peace 4 programme, and operated by the

A Donegal shop owner who’s been stockpiling custard creams and Heinz beans says the Brexit extension has put a spanner in the works. According to the Belfast Telegraph, Edward Coyle who runs the Centra in Raphoe says the UK-made goods will now go out of date unless he sells them. Mr Coyle, whose shop is

The RNLI says 69 lives were saved off the Donegal coast by its volunteer crews last year, and many more were brought safely ashore after getting into difficulty. There were 69 launches in total by the three Donegal lifeboat stations. Arranmore launched 34 times, saving 24 people, Lough Swilly launched 21 times, saving 23 people

Donegal County Council meets in special session next week to adopt the preferred route corridors for the TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project in Donegal. There are three sections under consideration – The N15/ N13 Ballybofey Stranorlar Urban Region, the N56/ N13 Letterkenny to Manorcunningham and the N14 Manorcunningham to Lifford, Strabane and the A5 Link.

The Cathoairleach of Donegal County Council is calling for an emergency meeting between the local authority and Irish Water over serious issues with the water supply in Falcarragh. Several businesses were forced to shut their doors yesterday over the vast water outage which affected hundreds of residents in the area. The utility has pledged to

Housing Minister Damian English has been urged to ensure that the proposed Mica redress scheme goes to cabinet for approval before the Easter break, and that the scheme is 100% funded by government. It follows reports that affected homeowners may be expected to pay a portion of the repair costs. In the Dail last evening,

Young doctors and consultants leaving the profession are a cause for concern according to the Medical Council. Its Workforce Intelligence Report shows almost 3,000 doctors stopped practicing in Ireland between 2015 and 2017. The council says this trend affects not just doctors in a hospital setting, but also those based in the community. In County

A South Donegal Deputy has described the LEADER funding spend to date as a shocking indictment of this government’s record on community and rural issues. It’s after figures show that just 29% of the overall budget for Donegal has been spent, while only 19% in both Sligo and Roscommon. Deputy Marc MacSharry says with a

  Hundreds of homes and businesses and a local school are currently without water in Falcarragh area due to a suspected pipe burst. Irish water has been notified of the issue however, it’s understood that some businesses in the area have had to shut their doors today to the water outage. There has been numerous

  It’s been claimed that a lack of dredging works at Bunbeg Harbour is seriously impacting the local community. A high sandbank around the harbour area is said to be leading to difficulties for the coastguard to launch at certain times. Meanwhile the situation is also causing problems for fishermen who wish to move freely

  Over 1.2km of ageing water mains is to be replaced in Dunwiley, Stranorlar which is aimed at improving the security of supply and reduce high levels of leakage. The programme to replace the water mains in Dunwiley is due to commence on this coming Monday. Irish Water say that the works once complete will

  Minister Damien English has moved to reassure homeowners in Donegal affected by mica that a redress scheme is going ahead as planned. It follows speculation and concern locally that the overspend of the National Children’s Hospital may result in the scheme being shelved indefinitely. However, the Minister clarified that while the scheme had been

  There are fears that the Buncrana Three School Campus proposal has been set back years after the Donegal ETB was told this week that an alternative site is now being considered by the Department of Education. Cllr Rena Donaghey says a letter to the board makes it clear that the preferred site at the

  The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation is warning that 390 million euro could be wiped from the Ireland’s tourism market by a hard Brexit. It says a hard border, sterling fluctuations and possible disruption to aviation would massively impact on our competitiveness. Chief Executive of ITIC, Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, says the sector could add 80,000

  Donegal County Council has begun considering where to provide public wi-fi in the county after successfully bidding for funding from the ‘Wi-fi 4 EU’ programme. Under the initiative, money will be available for the provision of hotspots in a number of locations, and officials have been briefing Municipal District meetings this week. Cllr Gary

  Brexit has been delayed until Halloween. After meeting until the early hours of the morning, EU leaders agreed to push the UK’s departure date back to October 31st. The agreement also contains a break clause to allow the UK to leave before that, if MPs ratify the withdrawal deal. European Council President Donald Tusk

A major road resurfacing programme between Convoy and Raphoe has been completed this week, several years after it was first decided that the project should be prioritised. Cllr Liam Doherty says the council was about to do the work when Irish Water announced they would be laying pipes on the route, and that meant the

  There are calls on the Health Minister to approve additional resources for the Cross-Border Directive unit. Figures released to Donegal Deputy McConalogue show there has been a huge increase in people across the country accessing services. In 2014, there were a total of 37 processed applications for reimbursement and prior authorisation under the CBD.

  Rape victim Annie Lafferty has waived her right to anonymity in order to name her attacker in an emotional victim impact statement made this week at the Central Criminal Court. Her father, 50 year-old Maurice Lafferty of Corcullen, Castlefin, Donegal, pleaded guilty to raping Annie during her teenage years, at the family home on

Plans for shower facilities have been approved for Drumatinney beach in Falcarragh. The project is expected to go out to tender in two weeks’ time and it’s anticipated that work will be finalised by summer’s end. The facilities will be similar to those already available at Rathmullan. Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill

  Plans for a new school building for the Little Angels School in Letterkenny could be a step closer. It’s anticipated that the project will commence to pre-qualification process shortly with a view towards creating a shortlist of contractors to which the project will be tendered. The update was given in response to queries raised

  There are fears that Donegal’s health service will be heavily impacted by the Government’s three month recruitment and overtime ban. The ban is being brought in owing to ‘financial pressure’ caused by a surge in recruitment last year. However it’s claimed that a decision to suspend recruitment in the HSE in 2007 is the