Author name: oisinkelly

The Dáil will debate the final report of the Water Services Committee in just one hour and twenty minutes this evening. A formal vote to end the current charging regime will take place tomorrow, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil set to carry it comfortably. Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen is adamant his party has delivered […]

  The HSE has confirmed that a pilot project will be set-up at Dungloe Community Hospital which will see the rollout of community based Ultrasound services. It’s understood that this will be as part of planned upgrades to the radiology department at the hospital. The pilot service will operate in tandem with the soon to

Donegal County Council has recently launched a new campaign promoting greater awareness among their drivers of how they can improve energy performance in their fleet. This campaign is being launched as part of the Councils drive to improve energy efficiency in line with their ISO 50001 accredited energy management system. “In our Energy Policy we

A man in his 50s who was arrested at the weekend as part of the investigation into the murder of Andrew Allen in Buncrana five years ago has been released without charge. He was arrested on Saturday and had been held in Letterkenny Garda Station for questioning under Section 30 of the Offences Against the

  It’s unreasonable to expect people living on some of Donegal’s islands to provide toilet facilities for tourists. That was the claim at this month’s meeting of the islands committee. It was told that three of Donegal’s smaller islands have seen a big increase in tourists as they include discovery points on the Wild Atlantic

Concern has been expressed over the quality and the condition of the new 230 thousand euro helipad on Tory Island. Despite having yet to be officially opened, its claimed the surface is falling apart, it’s becoming over grown with grass and paint is already starting to strip. At today’s island’s meeting, Councillor John Sheamais O

A Midlands North West MEP is warning that Brexit will compromise EU funding for the entire border region. Matt Carthy says that while guarantees have been given that Peace funding will continue, there are no guarantees that Interreg funding will be maintained, and that’s the programme which funds major infrastructural and development projects. Mr Carthy

A Derry Councillor is seeking a meeting with Transport NI to discuss the need for road improvements in Grangemore and Ardgrange. Cllr Colly Kelly says there major safety concerns, with hundreds of homes connected by one main access road, on which there is a serious speeding problem. At the very least, he says there needs

There’s bad news for passengers this morning after talks to resolve the Bus Eireann dispute broke down without a deal. The company says agreement was reached at the WRC on eliminating many work practise inefficiencies, but their offer aimed at addressing financial viability was rejected by the driver grade within the unions. The NBRU insists

Postmasters from Donegal are joining colleagues at a protest outside the Taoiseach’s constituency office in Castlebar today, demanding action to save 600 post offices around the country. The Irish Postmasters’ Union wants the government to enact the findings of a report by Bobby Kerr, which recommends closing only 80 offices to stem losses at An

Minister Leo Varadkar’s leadership ambitions are causing the government to drag its feet in addressing the financial plight of seasonal workers. Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher says changes to the welfare system means it is almost impossible for hundreds of seasonal workers to build up credits to claim social welfare, and in the case

Derry and Strabane Rural Partnership is advising local rural businesses and communities of new opportunities now available in the latest release of LEADER funding. The overall Rural Development Programme for Northern Ireland 2014-2020 has allocated a total of £7.54 million to the Derry City and Strabane District Council area over a four year period The

The Marine Institute’s ROV submarine carried out its last dive off Blackrock island today, and has left Blacksod bay on board the Irish Lights vessel the Granuaile. However Gardai say their Water Unit will conduct more dives on the crash site for Rescue 116 when weather allows. Coast Guard and Civil Defence volunteers have also

Letterkenny is in line for a jobs boost after food retailer Iceland pledged to create 270 new jobs in a €12 million investment in nine new stores in Ireland this year. A new store in Letterkenny will be opened in the coming months. This growth will see Iceland grow to an employee base of over

Donegal is one of the county’s with the longest delays in young people accessing Mental Health Services with some waiting over 12 Months to be seen. The CHO Area 1, which includes counties Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo and Leitrim, also has the highest volume of cases waiting to access mental health services. The figures were

    A coroner has said 15 year old Manus Deery, who was shot dead by the British Army in May 1972, was “totally innocent”, and posed no threat. He was eating chips with a group of teenage friends when he was shot in the head by a soldier from a sentry post on the

Translink says the “Bus of Legends”, which will celebrate two living legends in Derry, is to be unveiled on June 5th. A shortlist of six names has been drawn up by a judging panel, with the two legends who will feature on the bus to be decided by public vote. Judges were asked to select

  Transition Year students from two schools in Donegal are to receive specialist training in tourism as part of a pilot programme being funded by Donegal County Council. The training will be delivered through the LYIT School of Tourism in Killybegs, with the Abbey Vocational School in Donegal Town and St. Columba’s College in Stranorlar

Union representatives at Bus Eireann are hopeful a resolution can be found at today’s talks. Members have been locked in discussions at the Work Place Relations Commission all weekend in a bid to solve the long running dispute over cost cutting measures at the company. Strike action at the bus network is now in its

  A man arrested at the weekend as part of the investigation into the murder of Andrew Allen in Buncrana five years ago remains in custody this morning. The man in his 50s was arrested in the county on Saturday, and is being held at Letterkenny Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against

Ireland is the lowest investor in public capital infrastructure in the EU, despite having the fastest growing population. IBEC says the Irish government needs to be more ambitious if it’s to achieve the 2040 national planning framework. The business group is making their submission on the public consultation today and insists significant political planning and

One of the largest search and rescue opeations took place on Saturday along the West Coast for the two missing crew members of Rescue 116. Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby have been missing after the helicopter crashed over three weeks ago off the Mayo coast. The search proved unsuccessful however, the Killybegs Coastguard assisted by

Anger has been expressed following the vandalism of a Centenary display in the Racecourse Road area of Derry. It is believed that the cost of the damage will amount to £2000. Councillor Tony Hassan says he believes youths carried out the vandalism to the display which is part of the Shantallow Republican Monument. He’s been