Author name: oisinkelly

The Carndonagh to Drumfires/ Buncrana road is now reopen, almost seven weeks after it was badly damaged in August’s floods. The Council are continuing their recovering operation in Inishowen with the “Mountain Rd” also open to traffic with single lane crossing and traffic lighting assistance. Local Cllr Albert Doherty has been praising the ongoing efforts

  Tuesday will see the first budget under the stewardship of Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach. Negotiations are continuing over the weekend between Paschal Donohue and his colleagues with the fiscal space estimated at 350 million euro. This morning minister Finian McGrath outlined what his priorities are:

  Hospital consultants are calling for significant investment to tackle waiting lists. The annual conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association is taking place in Limerick today. It comes the day after new figures showed nearly 678 thousand people are now on hospital waiting lists. Among the speakers is Health Minister Simon Harris. President of

  A man has appeared before Derry Magistrate’s Court charged in connection with a break in at Christ Church, Derry last month. The man was identified by his mother after Police issued images of two males they wished to speak to in connection with the incident. The total damage caused is estimated to be in

  The senior Garda officer in Donegal has told the Charleton tribunal she wanted Gardai to be seen to be acting in a “clear and transparent” manner in investigating allegations made against whistleblower Garda Keith Harrison. Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn has told the tribunal that following the Morris tribunal, there was a lack of confidence

Police in Omagh are appealing for information after a gang of males carried out an assault in the town in the early hours of Sunday morning last. It is believed that a man is his 20s was set upon by the group of males at the junction of High Street and Bridge Street at around

Four Irish Red Cross volunteers are to be recognised for their successful intervention at the scene of a sudden cardiac arrest at the National Rowing Championships in Ballyshannon. The Donegal Area of the Irish Red Cross were on duty during the competition on August 19th when a competitor in the Veteran Men’s Heat had gone

Gardai in Falcarragh are advising motorists of traffic arrangements ahead of tomorrow’s Harvest Stages Rally. The rally will take place on the Creeslough to Gortahork road between the hours 9am and 5pm. Gardai are advising that the volume of traffic may be heavy particularly around the Service area located at Cassidy’s Quarry between Dunfanaghy and

Police in the North are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic collision that occurred in Newtownstewart on Monday. At approximately 7:30pm a transporter lorry crashed on the Newtownstewart bypass. Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision to assist in their enquiries by calling the non-emergency number 101.

The new Ulster University Medical School in Derry is expected to open in September 2019, provided a Stormont Executive can be formed in the interim. The Dean of the new Medical School, Professor Hugh McKenna says plans are in place and a site has been designated. However, with the political deadlock continuing in Northern Ireland,

It’s been confirmed that a new fire appliance is to be delivered to Milford Fire station today. It will be the first new fire appliance purchased by Donegal since 2013, when Stranorlar was then delivered an appliance. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher Leas-Cheann Comhairle say while he welcomes the move, the county has waited too

  There were 16 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning. Four were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further twelve were waiting on wards. Cork University Hospital is the most overcrowded this morning with 38 people waiting there. Nationally, there were 293 people waiting at hospitals across

  There are calls for a cross party delegation from Inishowen to travel to Government buildings in a bid to obtain funding for the restoration of Swan Park. The park, situated in Buncrana, is one of a number of amenities that was severely damaged in Augusts flood and the repair bill has been estimated at

  Letterkenny Institute of Technology has been named as runner up in the prestigious Sunday Times Institute of Technology of the Year 2017. The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 has listed LYIT as runner up with Athlone Institute of Technology winner. The guide says the institute’s cross-border relationships with the North West Regional College

  Serious concerns have been raised over the impact plans by An Post will have on rural Donegal and elsewhere. There are fears that if new contracts proposed by management of An Post are implemented, it could lead to a significant number of post offices closed in the coming years. Donegal Spokesperson for the Irish

  There are calls for prescription charges to be abolished. The charge increased to 2-euro-50 in 2013 – up from just 50 cent in 2010. Former Health Minister and Fine Gael Senator James Reilly says its having a negative impact on those with serious illness. Senator Reilly says it needs to be scrapped and says

  A Midlands North West MEP says a proposal for a tariff-free Agri-Food trade deal for the island of Ireland post-Brexit needs further “flesh on the bones” but it is worth looking at. Mairead McGuinness who is the vice-president of the European Parliament, was commenting on reports earlier this week that the European Commission is

  The OPW has been urged to prioritise the existing request for funding to carry out counter flood measures in Killybegs. It’s emerged, following Wednesday evening’s flooding there, that the area was previously surveyed by the OPW with risks highlighted by the council and an application made for funding to prevent future flooding. However, no approval

  As the North West continues to recover from the unprecedented flooding of six weeks ago, the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland has given an update on a significant level of repair work to roads and rivers in the area. While assessments and repairs are still being carried out around 80% of closed roads

  The number of people signing on the Live Register in Donegal has dropped by 14% in the last year. Nationally, the Live Register has fallen below 250,000 for the first time in 9 years. In Donegal the number of people signing on the Live Register is 2,082, down 14% compared to the same period

A Garda superintendent has denied that referring Garda Keith Harrison to GSOC was a complete charade. A referral was made to the Garda Ombudsman following a statement made by Marisa Simms to gardai after an argument with Garda Harrison.   Gardai in Donegal held a meeting in October 2013 to discuss the statement made by

Donegal County Council is advising those affected by last evening’s flooding in Killybegs and surrounding areas to contact them directly for assistance and support. A number of homes, businesses and other premises were affected as a result of the flooding. Any household in need of emergency accommodation should contact Donegal County Councils Housing service by calling

Donegal County Council Road’s Crews responded to reports of flooding at a number of locations in Killybegs and surrounding areas last evening. The first call was received at 6pm with crews on the ground from 6:10pm to approximately 9:30pm until the tide receded and the torrential rain had eased off. Locations affected were as follows:

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is advising that support is available for anyone who has been affected by the floods last evening in Killybegs from the Community Welfare Service in Ballybofey. The Department says any person or family who is in need should contact the service in Ballybofey on 074 9131154. The

A Donegal Deputy has said the Taoiseach’s response to a Dail question on the progress of the expert panel’s report on Mica affected homes in Donegal and Mayo was unacceptable. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked Leo Varadkar yesterday if the report had been discussed at Cabinet and also if the necessity and requirement for a remediation

  The Disclosures Tribunal is examining fresh statements from gardai, based on new evidence. The Chairman of the Tribunal requested the additional documents yesterday, saying things could have been done a lot better. This module is examining contacts between senior gardai and Tusla about Garda Keith Harrison.   On October 8th 2013, gardai convened a

  A member of the parents association at Fintra National School in Killybegs says there is a wider issue regarding inadequate piping in area. The gym at the school was damaged during last night’s floods but according to Liam Connelly there are ongoing concerns over drainage there with proposals for new pipes already being considered.

  There were 23 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. 11 were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 12 were waiting on wards. University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded this morning with 45 people waiting there. Nationally, there were 432 people

  A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Department of Social Protection to immediately fill the remaining 299 Rural Social scheme (RSS) posts. An additional 500 posts were allocated as part of Budget 2017 by former Minister Varadkar, but remain unfilled as of present right throughout the country. Leass Cheann Comhairle and Deputy Pat the

  Liam Cosgrave is being remembered as a man of great loyalty, duty and wit. Tributes are being paid to the Former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader who passed away yesterday at the age of 97. His father WT Cosgrave was the first head of the Irish Free State in 1922. Speaking on the 10

It’s emerged that children’s charity Barnardos is set to close its store in Strabane. The premise located on Railway Street has not been turning a profit of late but the charity has not ruled out re-opening down the line. Details of the closure date have not yet been disclosed. Local Cllr Patsy Kelly says it’s

A major clean-up operation is underway in Killybegs after a number of homes, businesses and a local school were damaged by flood water last night. A combination of high tide and torrential rain caused the river there to burst its banks with flood water ripping through a number of premises on Bridge Street. The damaged

  Carndonagh Community School have launched a new innovative driving module programme for their Leaving Applied Certificate students. The new programme is the first of its kind in Donegal and Ireland and will be facilitated by the Pro Social Drivers Programme. The module is about educating young people on driving safely and is being piloted

Several homes and businesses in Killybegs have been left counting the cost after their properties flooded when the river there burst its banks yesterday evening. The majority of the premises are located on the Bridge Street area and include Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringles Constituency office. It’s understood that Fintra National School has also been hit