Author name: oisinkelly

The Housing Minister has given the go-ahead to Donegal County Council to work on initiating a process which would provide housing for homeowners in Donegal affected by Mica. Many families have been forced out of their homes as they have been deemed unsafe to live in. Local Councillor Martin McDermott has welcomed Minister English’s commitment

A 94 year old woman who died in a house fire in Buncrana has been named locally as Sadie Gill. The blaze broke out just after 4pm yesterday afternoon at her farmhouse in Illies just outside Buncrana. Ms. Gill who was the sole occupant of the house was pronounced dead at the scene and her

The water conservation notice on the Lough Colm and Lough Fad supplies has been lifted eight months after it was first issued. Records showed that April 2017 was the driest April experienced for 67 years leading to the conservation notice being put in place in May of this year. Although the request to conserve has

The contract for the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) for the five year period 2018-2022 was officially signed yesterday at the County House in Lifford. The contract, which will see a combined budget for SICAP in Donegal of just over €2 million per year across the lifetime of the programme, was signed

There were 32 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. 19 people were on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 13 were waiting on wards. Yesterday saw 35 people waiting for a bed at the hospital which resulted in the full capacity protocol implemented. University

Some locals have expressed concerns about a Donegal nightclub’s decision to open on Christmas night. A special licence has been granted to the Limelight nightclub in Glenties to open at 1 minute past midnight – technically on St Stephen’s morning. It’s thought as many as 16-hundred people will turn up. Brian Carr from the local

The Department of Transport has confirmed its intentions to award Stobard Air a new contract for flights between Donegal Airport and Dublin. The contract will maintain the current flight schedule and will cover the next four year period at the airport. However Glasgow flights from Donegal Airport are in jeopardy as Stobard Air has expressed

  A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out today following the death of a woman in her 90s in a house fire in Buncrana. The blaze broke out just after 4pm yesterday afternoon at a house in Ballymagan just outside Buncrana. The woman who was the sole occupant of the house was pronounced

Minister Damien English has confirmed that a number of recommendations set out in the expert panel’s report on Mica-affected homes in Donegal will be implemented in the coming months. The Housing Minister met with the Mica Action Group and affected homeowners in Carndonagh last night to discuss the latest report and he has committed to

The new Courthouse in Letterkenny is to open on 2nd January 2018. €11.5 million was spent on developing the building at the site on High Road. Local Councillor Dessie Shiels has welcomed the confirmation from the Courts Service that all court sittings for Letterkenny and surrounding areas will now take place in the new building

Groups across Strabane and Derry are being urged to support a new Peace Tourism project aimed to bring together local organisations across the region. The project will support the sector with producing, piloting and promoting tourism packages that will meet local, national and international visitor demand. The Natural Connections: Peace Tourism Project is part of

More than €113,000 is to be given to 12 Donegal Gaeltacht groups. The funding has been approved by Údarás na Gaeltachta under the LEADER Programme. In a statement Minister Joe McHugh these grants are important for work in sporting, community and recreational groups in Donegal Gaeltacht areas. The funding will help the work of small

Main Evening News, Sport and Obituaries Monday 18th December

  Tourism Ireland has released a new film, celebrating Ireland’s Star Wars connections, featuring Mark Hamill. The film features a number of locations along Ireland’s western seaboard., including Malin Head and Skellig Michael. “The fact that another Star Wars film was shot on location along the Wild Atlantic Way is truly a fantastic coup for Irish

The Housing Minister is due to visit Donegal this evening to meet with the MICA Action Group and homeowners affected by the defective block issue. Damien English will arrive at the Public Service Centre in Carndonagh this evening at 8:30pm. The MICA Action Group are encouraging all homeowners whose homes have been affected by MICA

There are a number of homes and businesses without power in Inishowen. ESB are currently working to restore power to 1203 premises in Buncrana, Drumhaggart and Quigley’s Point. The network apologises for loss of supply and say power is expected to be restored by 5:15pm this evening.

A Sligo – Leitrim and South Donegal TD says people should be allowed to drive after drinking two alcoholic drinks. The new Road Traffic Bill would see those detected over the blood alcohol limit automatically disqualified. And it would impose a three-month driving ban for those caught with a blood alcohol level of between 50mg

The Full Capacity Protocol has been implemented at Letterkenny University Hospital. There were 35 people awaiting in-patient admission at the hospital this morning. Of those, 22 were waiting in the hospital’s Emergency Department. In a statement issued by the hospital they say the Emergency Department is extremely busy today with a significant number of patients

There were 35 people awaiting in-patient admission at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning. Of those, 22 were waiting in the hospital’s Emergency Department. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, there were 546 people awaiting admission at hospitals across the country this morning, the largest number, 54 of them in Limerick.

Vodafone Ireland say a fault which caused problems for some service users in Donegal has been rectified. Earlier, Donegal TD Pat the Cope Gallagher called on Vodafone to address issues in the west of the county, saying they had left a number of people isolated……. Vodafone statement in full – “Last week Vodafone Ireland identified

The Western Development Commission will reduce the interest rate it charges on its Community Loan Fund to 3% from January 1st. This lower interest rate — down from 5% — will be available for community projects and social enterprises in Donegal and the Western Region. The fund has supported 43 projects over the 10 years

The Chairperson of the Good and New Charity Shop in Letterkenny says every cent which has been donated is receipted and banked, and that can be verified by their accountant and by Revenue. Eamon Mc Devitt was speaking after the Sunday Times ran a story based on figures submitted to the Charity Regulator by the

Two men are expected to appear in court in Derry today after a 16 year old boy was assaulted in the city on Saturday night. The youth was rushed to Intensive Care with facial and head injuries after the assault in the Violet Street area at 7 o’clock on Saturday night. Police say he is

A senior Donegal TD is questioning the quality of Vodafone’s service in the North-West. Leas Ceann Comhairle Pat the Cope Gallagher says he’s received a number of complaints about the availability and quality of the signal, particularly in rural parts of Donegal. Deputy Gallagher says many people can be isolated as a result, and he

An appeal for information has been launched following an assault on two young men in Strabane last night. The two men were left with serious injuries following the attack by up to 9 assailants which happened in the town centre. Sinn Féin MLA Michaela Boyle has spoken out in condemnation of the attack and has

IMPACT says it wants to meet Ryanair sooner rather than later to see if Wednesday’s planned strike action by pilots can be called off. The airline wants to meet representatives on Tuesday and the union says it won’t know if the strike will go ahead until after this meeting. Ryanair said on Friday it would