Author name: oisinkelly

A Donegal Deputy has brought his ‘No Consent, No Sale Bill’ before the Dail. The bill aims to ensure that no mortgage can be sold to a vulture fund without the consent of the mortgage holder. This is already provided for in a Central Bank Code of Practice but banks are not bound by it. […]

  Further funding is currently being sought by Donegal County Council for the removal and replacement of parapet walls on the Ivy Bridge, Cloghan. The bridge was closed for a period of two months after the side wall collapsed last September. Initial repair works were carried out by the local authority with a second phase

A no-deal Brexit could affect the way pet owners transport their animals in and out of Ireland. In the meantime, the advice is to ensure your dogs are micro-chipped and intending passengers have their pet-passports up to date. It comes as three dogs were seized without papers this week, by Customs at Dublin Port. The

Plans to expand Ulster University’s Magee Campus are said to be progressing well following the acquisition of the former Foyle College site. The Magee Medical School will be at the core of the expansion with an urgency to get the go ahead for the postgraduate school by May this year to allow for the first

The Taoiseach has warned soldiers may have to return to the border with Northern Ireland if there’s a bad Brexit. Leo Varadkar has said if customs posts were erected they would very likely become targets. He’s also said Ireland is being victimised by Brexit and the British are offering few solutions to the current impasse.

    The Minister for Education says he will address the issue of pay for new teachers next year. Unions are warning of a recruitment and retention crisis in schools as a TUI survey shows 75 percent of principals questioned have had no applications for teaching positions in the past 12 months. Pay scales for

  Tributes are being paid to former Donegal County Councillor J.J. Reid, who has passed away. The Stranorlar based Cllr and businessman was a member of the Fine Gael party and was a well-known figure right across the county. His funeral takes place on Sunday. Cllr Bernard McGuinness has described Mr.Reid’s passing as a huge

  Mounting workloads and a lack of resources are the main issues facing primary school principals. 1200 members of the Irish Primary Principals Network are attending a conference in Dublin, being addressed by the Education Minister, Joe McHugh this morning. Close to 2,000 primary school principals also teach pupils and the IPPN is calling for

  Problems with poor coverage at Glencolumbkille and surrounding areas may finally come to an end following confirmation that a mobile phone mast is to be erected at Malin Beg. The Minister for Rural Affairs has sanctioned 35,000 for the works under the Digital Innovation Programme. It’s understood that funds for the project have already

  The Central Bank is warning that Ireland’s economic growth will be “significantly” affected in the event of a ‘No Deal’ Brexit. In its first Quarterly Bulletin, the bank expects economic growth to slow this year from 5.5 percent to 4.4 percent. But it says that a disorderly Brexit at the end of March could

The installation of additional CCTV cameras in Strabane town centre has been widely welcomed. £60,000 in funding is being provided by Derry City and Strabane District Council along with a number of other agencies in a bid to improve safety and curb anti-social activity in the town. Local Councillor Patsy Kelly who has repeatedly called

  Work is said to be progressing on creating a footpath on one of Inishowen’s busiest routes. There had been ongoing calls on Donegal County Council to construct a safer walking route at Drumhaggart, on the main Burnfoot-Muff road for some time and now, initial works have begun. Local Cllr Jack Murray says this is

  Concern has been raised as its emerged, the Stranorlar Municipal District is still without a dedicated litter warden. The previous litter warden vacated the role over 5 months ago which has led to the Cathaoirleach of the Stranorlar Municipal District calling on Donegal County Council to expedite the process of filling the post. Councillor

The head of the Revenue Commissioners has dismissed speculation that old customs posts are being restored for use after Brexit. The question was posed to Niall Cody by Donegal TD Pearse Doherty at the Oireachtas Finance Committee this morning. It’s after a number of reports that building works were being carried out at three border

The Government is being accused of sleepwalking into Brexit in terms of not strengthening the Garda force in Donegal and other border counties. It’s been widely argued that the force here suffered the most cut backs over the years, and now it’s feared that current resources are inadequate to deal with the potential implications of

A Donegal nurse has made an impassioned plea to people in the county to support nurses and midwives if the the first of a series of one day strikes goes ahead next Wednesday. Speaking on the Nine til Noon Show, Claire said that nurses are not seeking pay increases, but rather the restoration of pay

The Revenue Commissioners is to rule out setting up border posts for customs checks along the border after Brexit. Its chairman will appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee today to brief TDs on the work being done to prepare for the UK’s departure from the EU. According to the Irish Times, Niall Cody will say

  A motion has been put forward to the Stranorlar Municipal District calling for a meeting to be convened between Gardai and the PSNI to discuss cross border cooperation following a recent spate of criminal activity in the border region. PSNI in Strabane last week confirmed that they believe a cross border criminal gang is

The CEO of Udaras na Gaeltachta says there is an occupancy rate of over 80% in property controlled by the agency in Donegal, and he expects more investment to be announced in the near future. Michael Heaney was responding to Sinn Fein’s Business Spokesperson Maurice Quinlivan, who published figures he had received suggesting that there

  A public meeting is to take place over possible changes to the Muff – Buncrana bus route. Currently the service, provided by Local Link, only serves the area on a Friday however, several residents in Muff who need to regularly travel to Buncrana wish to see an increase this service. Local Link has also

The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation has been welcoming the EU Commission’s contingency proposals adopted today to help mitigate the significant impact a “no-deal” Brexit would have on EU fisheries. The first proposal will allow fishermen and operators from EU Members States receive compensation under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the temporary cessation of fishing