Author name: oisinkelly

Minister Joe McHugh has confirmed today to Highland Radio that there may be delays in carrying out improvement works to Donegal’s community hospital developments. He says the delay should be no more than a few months. It comes as the Government diverts €100 million from a range of projects, including the A5 to cover the […]

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has again told the Dail the Minister for Health is out of his depth and not up to the job. It comes as it emerged earlier today that almost 80,000 women are waiting up to 27 weeks for smear test results. The main cause of the backlog is the extra number

  A senior Donegal County Council official has told the Inishowen Municipal District that the response to the floods of August 2017 is an ongoing process. Roads Director John Mc Laughlin was speaking after Donegal County Council won a Special Award at the weekend for it’s response to the floods. The award was presented by

Education Minister Joe Mc Hugh says there is no dilution in the government’s commitment of money to the A5. It follows confirmation in the Dail yesterday that the €27 million comitted by the Irish government for the project this year will be deferred. It follows a cabinet meeting to decide how a €100 million cost

  The Water and Environment section of Donegal County Council is being accused of hiding behind Irish Water while key issues in and around the Letterkenny area are not being addressed. Representatives from the Directorate have endeavoured to attend an upcoming workshop with local representatives to discuss infrastructure plans and programmes. Cllr Ciaran Brogan says

A Donegal Deputy has hit out at the Government after revelations yesterday that the Garda stations in Kerrykeel, Kilmacrennan and Rathmullan are to be wound down. It coincides with plans to redeploy staff from the three stations to district headquarters in Milford. Much concern was expressed locally on the issue with Deputy Charlie McConalogue taking

Donegal County Council is being urged to enter into discussions with the new owners of the preferred site for the Three School Campus in Buncrana. It’s reported that the sale of the old Fruit of the Loom premises has now been completed. Cllr Rena Donaghey, who is also a member of the Donegal ETB, says

  It’s been confirmed that an audit will take place of disabled parking spaces in Letterkenny. Donegal County Council is currently in the process of erecting additional signage in and around the town and once this is complete; the roads department is to carry out a review. It follows concern raised locally that some designated

EU regulations are making it increasingly more difficult for people to secure planning permission for developments in Inishowen. Cllr Paul Canning told a Municipal District meeting this week that environmental designations are contributing to the fact that up to 20% of applications on the peninsula last year were invalid. Cllr Canning says the problem is

Farmers are today lobbying TDs and Senators on the beef crisis. They say there are many factors involved, including poor prices, rising costs, the weakness of sterling and uncertainty surrounding Brexit. IFA President, Joe Healy, says compared to this time last year, farmers are finding it almost impossible to sell their stock.

Donegal County Council has pledged to continue carrying out minor repairs to Magheralask Road and will be in the running for potential inclusion in the 2020 programme. It follows claims that no major improvement works have been carried out on the route in 20 years. The road leads to a number of premises in the

The Donegal Islands Committee has proposed a pilot scheme for a ferry service to Donegal’s smaller islands be introduced for 2019. At today’s meeting of the Islands Committee much support was given to a motion to introduce a scheme part funded by Donegal County Council. It is anticipated it will initiated sooner rather than later

The Taoiseach has confirmed that 27 million euro earmarked for the A5 upgrade is being pulled this year. Works on the A5/N2 Road is jointly funded by the British and Irish Governments, and is the main link between Dublin and the North West. There was speculation funding for the project could be in doubt as

There are fears that the Irish government’s support for the upgrade of the A5 may be scaled back as the cabinet considers what projects will have to be put on hold to make up for cost over-runs at the National Children’s Hospital. 100 million euro has to be found by ministers because construction at the

Concern is growing at the potential impact of a re-alignment of resources in the Milford Garda District. There is concern in the area that the garda stations in Kerrykeel, Kilmacrennan and Rathmullan are to close. Garda Management deny that any station closures are to take place, but they do acknowledge some gardai are being re-allocated.

  There are urgent calls on Donegal County Council to carry out repair works on Magheralask Road. The road, situated in Glenswilly, is the gateway to a significant number of homes in the area however it’s been claimed that the route has not been extensively improved upon since 1999. Residents have now deemed the road

  Further concern has been raised that the overspend on the National Children’s Hospital could impact the future of HSE projects in the North West. Cyril Brennan of People Before Profit is seeking urgent clarity on what projects will be affected in Donegal. He has also hit out at Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher

The HSE says it will do everything it can to restore normal service following the suspension of this week’s nurses strike. Outpatient appointments are set to go ahead as planned and patients with appointments for today, tomorrow and Thursday are advised to attend as scheduled. Surgical patients will be contacted by their hospital if their

  Live animal exports could be seriously affected if a hard border is created by Brexit. Representatives from the live export industry will meet with the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine later today to discuss problems facing the sector. Chair of the Committee, Fine Gael TD Pat Deering, says any border would

  The Donegal ETB has published a three-year strategic agreement for its Further Education and Training Service. The plan sets out the ETB’s priority areas for the coming years which includes the expansion of the trainee model as well as a focus on upskilling the existing workforce and the integration of transversal skills development into

This week’s strike action by nurses has been called off. The Executive Council of the INMO has decided to suspend the strikes, due to begin tomorrow, following a recommendation from the Labour Court. Nurses will be briefed on the details, before being asked to vote on the proposals. 40,000 nurses and midwives were due to

Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher says assurances are needed that planned improvements at St Joseph’s Hospital, Stranorlar and Ramelton Community Hospital are protected. He says at a series of meetings with the HSE and Department of Health officials, an agreed plan was signed up to by all interested parties, but now there are question marks

Sinn Féin has put down a motion of no confidence in Health Minister Simon Harris. But Fianna Fáil won’t vote against the government to remove the Minister from office. Political Correspondent Seán Defoe reports…………