Author name: oisinkelly

The Minister for Finance says Ireland is heading towards full employment. Michael Noonan says unemployment is at just over 7%, a drop of 9% from five years ago when it was at 16%. Despite the economic upturn, Mr Noonan said some people are still struggling to buy a home and send their children to school.

A local Councillor is praising building merchants who have donated materials for a new footpath in Gaoth Dobhair. Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig felt that a footpath was needed on the industrial estate road in light of the renovation work at the Amharclann Theatre in the area. Materials have been kindly donated to facilitate

The death has been announced of former Donegal person of the year Hugh Gallagher. The 92 year-old from Carrigart was the winner of more than one hundred and fifty All Ireland track and field athletic gold medals. Donegal County Council held a civic reception for the Mr Gallagher in 2015. Born in Creevy, Carrigart in

Almost 93 surgeries were cancelled each day during the month of January. That’s according to Sinn Fein which also says hospitals across the country currently face up to 100 percent occupancy each week. The party says that patients’ health is being severely undermined by underinvestment in the Public Health Service. Sinn Féin Health Spokesperson Louise

Smoking is the cause of almost 3000 cancer deaths in Ireland each year. Today marks World Cancer Day and the Irish Cancer Society is urging the Government to follow Australia and make a bold pledge on tobacco. Cigarettes cost over 17 euro per packet in Australia with plans to increase it to 28 euro by

Donegal County Council are receiving applications for the Structures at Risk Fund on behalf of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs. The total national fund available of €824,000. The purpose of the Structures at Risk Fund is to assist with works to safeguard structures protected under the Planning and Development Act

The sister of a missing Derry man is pleading with people in the North West to assist them in their search for him. Jack Glenn is understood to have entered the River Foyle on Wednesday sparking a major search and rescue operation in a bid to locate him. That search is continuing today with groups

  Serious concern has been raised after human excrement was found during a voluntary clean-up on the outskirts of Letterkenny. The operation is centrally focused in the Lower Dromore area of the town close to the dual carriagway. A significant amount of rubbish has been collected by a local team this week and it’s thought

The Agriculture and Marine Minister says he won’t scrap a controverial review of mackerel quotas, despite the fact that an expected quota increase will not now materialise. The review follows a request to the minister to allocate the bulk of any quota increase to vessels in the south of the country, with fears in Killybegs

There were almost 2000 less people signing on in Donegal last month compared to January 2016. The latest figures from the CSO shows the live register total in Donegal stands now at 14,240. The number signing on in Letterkenny last month was 4,233 down 665 over the course of the year – the number signing

The makers of the whiskey which is to be distilled in Derry from next year say they want consumers to develop an “emotional link” with the product. Quiet Man whiskey is already blended and bottled in the city by the Niche Drinks company, and it’s now hoped the new distillery at Ebrington will be operational by

People from Creeslough Falcarragh and all neighbouring Towns are invited to a meeting tonight with a view to establishing a text alert system in the Dunfanaghy area. The initiative is borne from a perceived lack of gardai in the area and the success of text alert systems in other areas of the county. The aim

  The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association is launching a campaign to have Areas of Natural Constraint payments to farmers in mountain and more severely handicapped areas doubled. The initiative would require increasing the ANC budget to €300 million, which the association says can be achieved by adjusting the department’s overall budget. Farmers in

Donegal County Council is to request a meeting with the housing Minister Simon Coveney to discuss, what have been described as, the limitations of the current tenant purchase scheme. Councillor Michael McBride says the meeting is necessary to highlight the difficulties faced by the people of Donegal who wish to purchase County Council and S.I.

  Donegal’s five TDs should attend at least four Donegal County Council meetings a year, with a view towards creating a better form of communication on local issues between them and Councillors. The motion was brought forward at the most recent sitting of Donegal County Council by Councillor Ian McGarvey. He believes that this would pave

35 new jobs are on the cards in Derry after the Department of Finance at Stormont approved the business case for a new Niche Drinks distillery at Ebrington. It follows Derry City and Strabane District Councils’ decision this week to grant planning permission for the development, which means it can now go to construction. Foyle

  Emergency services are currently at the scene of a two car collision near Lurgybrack School in Letterkenny. It’s understood the crash happened at around 4.30 this evening. The road remains open but Gardai have advised motorists to approach the area from both directions with caution. There are no further details at this stage.

The National Ambulance Service has confirmed plans are currently in progress to establish an ambulance base in Buncrana. The absence of an ambulance base in the town has long been an issue in Inishowen with local groups and representatives calling for the move for some time. The new base has been described as a strategic

There were 20 patients awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, five of them on Emergency Department trollies and 15 in treatment rooms, ward chairs and overflow areas across the hospital. The overall figure is down from 28 yesterday. Nationally, the INMO gives the overall number waiting across the country today as 517, down

  Former Tory Islander hotel owner Patrick Doohan has this morning told the Supreme Court that he was there to clear his name of any wrongdoing. Doohan is appealing a High Court judgment that he demolished a house without the owner’s permission because it blocked his hotel’s view of the sea. In November The Supreme

At Least three Dutch Super-trawlers are back off the coast of Donegal with fears again of the potential damage to local fishermen’s gear such as lobster and crab pots. There is further frustration as the Irish fleet starts to tie up as they have their quota filled, the Dutch fleet of super-trawlers continuing to fish

The Killybegs Fishermens Organisation is again calling on Minister Michael Creed to scrap a controversial review on mackerel sharing, and concentrate instead on the potential impact of Brexit on fishing quotas. The KFO Chief Executive says Britian is already talking about increased access to fishing grounds after Brexit, and the organisation’s stance has now been

A Donegal County Councillor is calling on the Taoiseach not to visit the White House next month for the traditional shamrock presentation. The call comes in light of  President Donald Trump’s controversial ruling  barring travel to the US from seven predominately Muslim countries. Councillor Micheal Chlom Mac Giolla Easbuig has described the move as outrageous, and

A Donegal Councillor says the confusion and difficulties associated with the accommodation of refugees in Ballaghadreen, County Roscommon in December must not be replicated in Donegal. Cllr Albert Doherty says Donegal County Council should provide up to date information from the Department of Justice and Equality under the government’s “Irish Refugees Protection Programme “. Councillor

It’s been confirmed that a public consultation on the provision of home help services will begin in May. Latest figures suggest that while the number of low dependency people in nursing homes nationwide has increased, in Donegal, the amount of people being cared for at home is nearly twice the national average. Responding to questions

Calls have been made on the Government to address the Lost at Sea scheme. The call comes following a meeting in the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, at which the Byrne family from Donegal once again addressed their exclusion from the initiative. The scheme, which was set up in 2001 to compensate families for losses

  Health Minister Simon Harris has failed to turn up to a Dail debate on serious issues facing Letterkenny University Hospital.  Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty demanded that the Health Minister explain what action was taken to avoid the suspension of all new chemotherapy referrals at Letterkenny University Hospital. It follows last week’s confirmation that all