Author name: oisinkelly

The head of Tourism Ireland says it’s inconceivable that we’d have a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland. Niall Gibbons’ comments come as the European Union’s chief BREXIT negotiator warns the border between it and the UK can’t be frictionless post BREXIT. Michel Barnier says he believes it’s clear a ‘hard border’ with

  Three men have been returned for trial in connection with the murder of Derry civil servant Paul McCauley. Paul McCauley was left in a vegetative state after being beaten by loyalists in Derry’s Waterside area in 2006. He died in June 2015 aged 38. Piper McClements (26) of The Fountain, Matthew Gillen (30) of

  An Bord Pleanala has refused permission for a significant Leisure Park in Greencastle. The council had given the project the go ahead but that decision was successfully appealed to planning authority. The plans, by Carrowhugh Investments Limited, for the Leisure Park at Carrowhugh in Greencastle were for 37 mobile home pitches and 20 stopover

A major drop in the number of young adults in Donegal has been blamed on emigration. Census 2016 figures released today show the number of young adults in the county fell by 16.2% since Census 2011, a fall almost 10% greater than the national average. The numbers in the pre-school age group fell by 15.3%,

The EU’s top Brexit negotiator has warned that the UK still doesn’t understand the full consequences of its decision to leave the EU. Michel Barnier also criticised what he said were false claims by some in Britain about the possible deals to reach afterwards. Barnier said he was not sure the British people understood that

Ministers have been accused of using Gardai as their personal police, in the Dáil chamber this afternoon. It follows the detention of a blogger while travelling through Dublin Airport last week. The blogger was cautioned over a blog post questioning the personal business dealings of the Social Protection minister, Regina Doherty. A spokesperson for the

New figures from last year’s census show a significant fall in the number of young adults in Donegal. Census 2016 shows the number of young adults in the county fell by 16.2% since Census 2011, a fall almost 10% greater than the national average In Donegal, the numbers in the pre-school, young adults and adults

There were 12 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University this morning. According to the IMNO, two people were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further ten were waiting on wards. Beaumont Hospital was the most overcrowded today with 34 people waiting there. Nationally, there were 276 people waiting for beds

  An MLA says proposals to cut school uniform grants in the North would be a major blow for already struggling families. The Department of Education is set to cut the grant for low income families by £3million. The Department says that it has to work within the budget constraints brought about by the current

Members of the IFA Grain Committee are currently occupying the Department of Agriculture at Leinster House over concerns surrounding the tillage scheme and to seek an urgent meeting with Minister Michael Creed. Farmers in the county and elsewhere are still waiting on payments from the scheme after suffering devastating loses last year with Donegal said to

  The foundation stone has been laid this week for the new Orange Hall in Newtowncunningham. The old hall was devastated in an arson attack almost three years ago. It’s expected that the new hall will be completed and open by spring of next year. Deputy master Stewert McClean says it’s fantastic news:

A Letterkenny Councillor says those behind the latest act of vandalism in the town have nothing to offer to the local community. Significant damage has been caused to a World War 1 memorial situated in St. Eunan’s Cathedral Car Park. The feature was erected by the Letterkenny Heritage Community in 2014 with the stone structure

Special Needs Assistants are threatening industrial action – despite the announcement of almost a thousand new jobs yesterday. An additional 975 SNA positions have been created by the Education Minister – 44 in Donegal – an increase of 7.5 percent. But existing assistants have been told they’ll be made redundant and must reapply for their

Areas of Strabane have been hit with late postal deliveries due to an unusually high level of sick leave in the local office. Councillor Barry McElduff says he has also been told the the under-staffing and increased workload on the staff that remain, has led to low morale. He has raised the issue with the

Rustler Dennis Thomas has admitted stealing 70 sheep worth €4,000. Some of the farmers he robbed, including a near neighbour, told Donegal District Court how devastated they felt over trust within the farming community breached by the 23-year-old. Thomas faced four sample charges of stealing 11 lambs worth a total of €580 from farmers in

  There are concerns that British Government’s decision to pull out of the London Fisheries Convention could mean that Donegal Fisherman could be excluded from fishing Lough Foyle. The 53-year-old agreement grants rights to six neighbouring coastal states to fish within six to 12 nautical miles of each others’ coasts, based on historic activity. Speaking in

  Gardaí have launched a murder investigation following the disappearance of man in the West of Ireland six years ago. 48 year old Patrick Heeran was last seen in the Leitrim town of Mohill at 4.20pm on the 3rd of October 2011. It’s understood a search is being carried out in the surrounding areas and

The United States has urged Northern Ireland’s two major political parties to reach an agreement for a power-sharing government. Talks between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party broke down on Tuesday. The US State Department says it regrets that – and is asking both sides to continue their discussions.

A book of evidence was today served on a 45-year-old man accused of forcing a girl in her early teens to strip off her clothes in a sex-card game. Inspector Denis Joyce said there were 16 charges against the defendant. He said the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed that they be tried at the

Children with special needs in Donegal will benefit from 44 extra SNAs in our local schools The allocation is part of a national provision of 975 additional Special Needs Assistants which will be available for allocation to schools over the period September to December 2017. The allocation is a 7.5% increase. Minister Joe McHugh says

It’s been confirmed that the Foyle Ferry Service will set sail on its maiden voyage of the summer this weekend. It had been hoped that the service would resume last weekend however a statement issued by the company said that the sailing had been postponed due to the completion of major enhancement works to the

There were 11 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. Four people were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further seven were waiting on wards. University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded in the country today with 34 people waiting there. Nationally, there were

It’s been claimed that there’s an increasing number of mart operators throughout Donegal reporting that the cost of insurance is becoming unsustainable. This has led to calls on the Finance Minister to urgently take steps to tackle the rising cost of insurance premiums for Livestock Marts. Speaking the Dail last night, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty

The issue of lengthy waiting lists at the breast clinic at Letterkenny University Hospital was raised in the Dail last night. More than 143 women have been waiting over a year for an appointment. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Taoiseach what the government is doing about the delays, stating that it is “unacceptable”. A

It’s predicted that work on phase two at Malin Head will be complete in two weeks’ time. The work – including road widening, extending the existing car park and the construction of a toilet block are being carried out as part of the Malin Head Access and Amenity Improvement Project. It’s hoped that once this

Border Communities Against Brexit has won the European Citizens Award 2017. The cross sectoral campaign group was nominated by a number of MEPs for their efforts in opposing Brexit and its impacts on border communities at both a national and international level. The group was set up last year to stand as a voice for

The Government is being warned that the interests of motor insurance customers must be paramount in the ongoing probe into alleged price fixing in the motor insurance industry. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher was responding to the news that insurance companies, brokers and representative bodies for the industry were raided yesterday by officers from the