Author name: oisinkelly

Discussions continue at Lifford House as Councilors meet to discuss and pass the Council’s Revenue Budget for 2017. €135 million will be spent on roads, housing, environmental services, job creation and tourism promotion. There is €2.3 million available for 2017 compared to last year equating to a spend of €851 per person in Donegal. The […]

The HSE have announced that they are undertaking a consultation and engagement process in order to deepen its understanding of priorities that will help support an improved Primary Care and GP service. The process involves service-user consultation and engagement including one-to-one interviews, an omnibus survey, a variety of focus groups with stakeholders and a public

Several people have been taken to hospital following a 3 vechicle road traffic collison on the Glenshane Road in Dungiven. The PSNI have advised that the road remains closed and is expected to do so for several more hours while a full investigation into the circumstances is conducted. The collision happened earlier this morning close to

Two new vaccines are being made available to babies born after the first of October this year, with the first being administered next week. The new vaccines are intended to immunise children against  and Men B, and are additional to vaccines which are already given. On today’s Shaun Doherty Show, Donegal based Public Health Specialist

An innovative recycled jewellery line being made in Portsalon is being showcased at the National Craft and Design Fair in Dublin next week. Shropshire born Helen Haworth makes Donegal Seaglass jewellery from glass and pottery collected from the beach at Portsalon. She says there is so much history around this part of the Donegal coast,

There were 23 people awaiting beds today at Letterkenny University Hospital 13 of them on trolleys in the emergency department. According to figures from the INMO there was a total of 464 people awaiting beds across the country today. Yesterday there were 31 patients awaiting admission to Letterkenny University Hospital.

Donegal County Council’s Chief Executive has told today’s Budget meeting that the local authority is taking a leadership role on the issue of Brexit. Seamus Neely says the council has already been engaging with effected groups and sectors, as well as with Derry City and Strabane District Council. Discussion continue at Lifford House as Councilors

New figures released to Fianna Fáil reveal that there have only been 11 IDA site visits to Donegal in 2015 and 2016. In contrast, there were 446 visits in Co. Dublin over the same period. Deputy Charlie McConalogue says there has been a complete vacuum of investment in the border counties over the past 5

Motorists on the A6 between Derry and Belfast are advised that the Glenshane Road outside Dungiven has been closed following a RTC collision to the Ponderosa. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible and seek alternative routes for their journeys.     Picture from the Ponderosa Facebook page

Businesses in the North West have successfully forged a number of trade links in America. These links have been brought about from the Ireland North West trade delegation to the United States last week. A joint partnership between Gartan Technologies from Donegal and US firm Adashi Systems, the establishment of a Boston office for Derry

County Councillors meet today discuss and most likely adopt the council’s revenue budget for 2017. Just over 135 million euro will be available to spend, an increase of 2.23 million euro on last year. The Revenue budget sets out council spending in areas such as housing, economic development and the provision of services. After a

      A Donegal County Councillor has claimed that the SAOLTA group has no long term plan for dealing with the overcrowding crisis at Letterkenny University Hospital. Yesterday’s figures from the INMO revealed that there were 31 people awaiting admission at the hospital, with 21 people awaiting admission on Monday morning. SAOLTA has confirmed

A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Government to address the implications of a Supreme Court ruling which has resulted in fishing vessels registered in Northern Ireland being prohibited from fishing in waters in the Republic. The call comes following the recent judgement to an appeal brought before Supreme Court Justice O’Donnell in which it

  There are fears that the effects of Brexit may already be taking hold in counties close to the border. That’s despite new CSO figures showing that the number of people at work in Ireland is now at its highest since the end of 2008. The figures show most regions benefitting from jobs growth, but

  Donegal County Council is to review the existing traffic calming measures in Castlefinn following claims that vehicles are exceeding the speed limit on the approaches to the town. There have been reports that some motorists are driving at over 100kmph entering the village from both Ballybofey and Lifford directions. The issue was raised by

  The security alert at Rossnagalliagh in Derry has ended. Technical officers examined the suspicious object which has been declared as an elaborate hoax. It has now been taken away for forensic examination. All roads have been re-opened and residents allowed back to their homes. Local SDLP Councillor Brian Tierney says the incident has caused serious

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the company that formerly owned Tory Island’s Hotel against a High Court ruling that it was responsible for demolishing a house in the island belonging to film-maker Neville Presho. Three judges ruled the company could not appeal as it has been dissolved. They ruled that Presho be

There were 31 patients awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, 21 of them on trolleys in the Emergency Department. According to the INMO – Cork University Hospital is the most overcrowded with 54 people in need of a bed. University Hospital Limerick is next with 34 people on trolleys and overflow areas of

Irish Water has signed a contract with Coffey Water for the upgrade of the Owenteskna Public Water Supply in South west Donegal. €4 million euro is being invested in a new water treatment plant and reservoir which will benefit approximately 4,000 consumers in an area west of Killybegs including Kilcar, Carrick and Glencolumcille. At present,

Midlands North West MEP Marian Harkin is one of nine who are challenging elements of the CETA trade deal between the EU and Canada. Ms Harkin says the provision in the agreement for an Investor’s Court could leave Ireland open to multi-million euro claims, and it is horrifying that the government has provisionally signed up

Police are at the scene of a security alert in the Rossnagalliagh area of Derry following the discovery of a suspicious object. A number of roads have been closed and local diversions are in place. There are no further details at present.

A 51 year old man has been arrested in connection with dissident republican activity in Derry. Detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch detained the man in the Crescent Link area of the city this morning. He’s been brought to Belfast, where he’s being held for questioning in the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave.

The HSE has confirmed it wants to enter into a Public Private Partnership agreement for the construction of a new Health Centre in Dunfanaghy. In a letter to local public representatives this week, the HSE confirms that following a meeting with the G.P, it is intended to remain in the existing Health Centre in the

A Donegal County Councillor is reiterating his call to utilise space in community hospitals in Donegal to alleviate overcrowding at Letterkenny University Hospital. Yesterday’s figures from the INMO revealed that 21 people were awaiting admission to the hospital with a further 7 waiting at Sligo Regional Hospital. There have also been reports that prefabs may

Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney has welcomed an admission from the British Ministry of Defence that 15-year-old Manus Deery, who was shot dead by a soldier in 1972, was innocent. The Derry teenager was eating chips with friends when he was killed by a single bullet fired from the City’s walls. The soldier who fired the

Calls have been made for cross-border approach to tackle illegal dumping in both Donegal and Derry. The call comes following reports last week of a suspected illegal dump site in Donegal while another similar site has also been discovered in Derry recently. It has also been claimed that significant amounts of waste is being driven

An emergency committee has been established in Ranafast following concerns that a road there is not being considered for gritting in frosty weather. Yesterday it was claimed that two bus companies couldn’t get coaches out of the village due to the weather conditions. The committee is holding meeting later this week and all local representatives

  The amount of people awaiting admission to Letterkenny University Hospital is on the increase again with 21 people waiting for a bed this morning. 11 of those were waiting on trolleys in the Emergency Department while a further 10 were waiting on wards or overflow areas on wards. Cork University Hospital is the most

A support service for being undergoing cancer diagnosis and treatment is to be launched in Letterkenny in January. Cancer Care West say during a review of their regional services in 2015, it emerged that Donegal and the Northwest is very poorly served in terms of psychological support both at the time of diagnosis and right

A Letterkenny developer who claims ownership of The Kube, a business premises on the Thorn Road, has given Donegal County Council a week to sign a new lease after taking possession of the building last Friday. Mr Gildea, accompanied by a number of members of a group called “The Helping Hand Group” entered the building

Donegal County Council is again being urged to expand its gritting programme in West Donegal following claims that two bus companies couldn’t get coaches out of Ranafast this morning because of the frost and ice. The companies had to make alternative arrangements to meet their commitments. There have also been reports of cars coming off

The health campaign group DACC has written to Minister Simon Harris, the Saolta Hospital group and the General Manager of Letterkennny University Hospital to seek clarity on reports that prefabs may be considered as a response to the overcrowding crisis at the facility. The letter, send yesterday, raises a number of questions about the number

  A Donegal Deputy has revealed that there has been a massive underspend of the Rural Development Programme. Deputy Charlie McConalogue says this will result in tough times for farmers as it was revealed to him that only 52% of the budget has been allocated this year. He has repeated his claims that within the

Partition has been an economic cul-de-sac for Ireland north and south. That’s according to the North’s Finance Minister who says the divide is still having a negative impact on the economies on the island of Ireland today. Economic growth rates in the South are estimated at 3.6 per cent for 2017 but at just over

Detectives in Tyrone are investigating whether a number of weekend burglaries in the Newtownstewart and Strabane area are linked. Over the weekend a total of four houses were broken into with some jewellery items and sums of cash stolen, the PSNI are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Jewellery was taken from a house in the