Author name: oisinkelly

There are genuine fears that the Leisure Centre in Buncrana will never re-open. The facility closed almost 2 years ago with plans in place for a new €6m leisure centre – however it is unlikely to open before 2018 – if at all. The centre was the only community swimming facility in Inishowen and was

The Full Capacity Protocol has been implemented again at Letterkenny University Hospital with significant numbers of patients without a bed awaiting admission to the hospital. Management say all efforts continue to be made to identify patients who are appropriate for discharge. All non urgent elective procedures have been deferred. People who are attending the Emergency

Donegal County Council is to explore ways to extend the CCTV system in Letterkenny into housing estates and further out of town. It’s off the back of calls from the Chair of Donegal Joint Policing Committee Councillor Gerry McMonagle. He says the cameras are needed to help prevent and solve crime but could also help

There are calls for the council to examine if the sequence of the traffic lights at Letterkenny Court House is adding to congestion problems. Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh says a number of people have contacted him saying that the lights change to frequently and that it is causing jams. He has welcomed a council commitment to

Donegal County Council has achieved ISO 50001 accreditation for it’s Energy Management System, following what the council says was many months of work to introduce a new Energy Management System throughout all the authority’s operations. Donegal County Council is only the second local authoritiy in Ireland to achieve this accreditation for all of the Council

Concern has been raised at the fact that young farmers in the North West may not receive National Reserve payments for the second year running. This scheme was opened last year with funding paid out to over 6,000 farmers. However, the programme didn’t open for applications this year and it now it appears unlikely that

It’s been confirmed that the x-ray unit at the Donegal Community Hospital has been restored to full service. The unit had been out of action for some time, with patients having to travel elsewhere for x-rays, but the HSE has now completed essential repair work and the unit is once again operating normally. Donegal Deputy

There were 18 people without beds at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, 15 of them on trolleys in the Emergency Department. The figures from the INMO come as the organisation prepares to ballot its members on industrial action over General Secretary Liam Doran says is ‘chronic overcrowding and insufficient staffing’. Former Taoiseach John Bruton has

  A Donegal Deputy is urging the Government to speed up the delivery of high speed broadband as a matter of urgency. A total of €15 million has been earmarked to provide the service to rural areas as part of Budget 2017 with the latest pledge by Government to have it provided to all rural

The local community of Dunlewey have been urged to get their submissions as part of the public consultation in relation to Dunlewey Post Office into An Post before the deadline for submissions closes this Friday. The future of the post office has been brought into question following the decision not to automatically place the branch

A delegation from Donegal County Council is travelling to Glasgow for a special business networking event this evening. A number of meetings have been organised with business people in Scotland, with a view towards forging links with businesses in Donegal, as well as seeking to attract inward investment. Cathairleach Cllr Terence Slowey says it’s an

Just after quarter to seven last Friday evening, a 14 year old girl was knocked off her bike by a car. The car is believed to have been a black BMW with tinted windows, and was driven by a man. The girl received a scrape to her leg as a result of the incident but

There are calls for ‘LUTS’ to be revisited and possibly reviewed with a view to easing traffic congestion in Letterkenny. The Land Usage and Transportation Study study was commissioned in 2009 to identify the town’s main traffic black spots. While some of its proposals were adopted, some claim there was a lack of real action

Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States. He’s addressing his supporters in New York now, after claiming key states including Florida and North Carolina. He’s promising to ‘bind the wounds of division’, and be a President for all of America. Hillary Clinton called her rival to congratulate him on his

Options to name a street or place in Ramelton after Nobel prize winner William C Campbell are to be examined. Earlier this year, the council hosted a Civic Reception in recognition of Prof Campbell’s outstanding achievement in jointly winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Prof Campbell was born in 1930 in Ramelton

Secondary students across the country are heading back to school today following the suspension of industrial action by the ASTI. Last night, the union accepted an invitation from the Teachers’ Conciliation Council to attend talks with the Department of Education aimed at resolving the dispute over pay and conditions. Members will be available for teaching,

A new initiative to promote energy efficiency is being launched at a special function today in Glenveagh. The conference which is being hosted by Donegal County Council, sees a number of regions explore new solutions to improve energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in public housing, buildings and infrastructure in the participating regions.

Donegal County Council has been named overall winner of the “Road Safety Award 2016” in the Excellence in Business Awards by the Public Sector Magazine. This is the second year in succession that Donegal County Council has won the award. To date, 161 people have lost their lives on Irish roads, an increase of 30

  The TII, responsible for the national roads network, has been heavily criticised at today’s Letterkenny Municipal District Meeting. Independent John O’Donnell says the organisation, formally known as the NRA, has refused to address concerns raised over safety at Kilmacrennan. He was commenting on Councillor Michael McBride’s motion calling for speed limit flashing lights on

A two day conference is taking place in Newry to improve cooperation among local development groups on both sides of the border. Irish Rural Link and the Rural Network for Northern Ireland are launching a programme of enhanced cooperation between Local Action Groups in Northern Ireland and the Republic. The €15 million programme has been

New car sales were up over 18 percent in the first nine months of the year. Figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show it represents a boost to the exchequer of € 1.25 billion. Car sales until the end of September were strongest in Roscommon – while the lowest was Leitrim. 3,454

  Police have confirmed that a 44-year-old man who was knocked down in Newtownstewart two weeks ago has passed away in hospital. The pedestrian named locally as Eugene O’Brien, was struck by a black Vauxhall Vectra on the Strabane Road at around 6.35pm on Monday October 24th. He remained on life support at the Royal Victoria

A West Tyrone MLA has supported a motion in the Northern Assembly calling for the reduction of car parking fines. Daniel McCrossan agrees that the penalty of 45 pounds is excessive particularly for low-income households. He says it is right that inconsiderate motorists are brought to task for causing traffic jams and misusing disabled spaces

Strikes continue today at 12 post primary schools in Donegal as the ASTI protests over pay for newly qualified teachers. There are in total 27 post primary schools in Donegal. The 15 schools under the management of Donegal ETB will not be affected by the strike actions. Today’s industrial action at the schools affected centres

The price of renting a property in Donegal has risen by almost 7% over the past year according to the latest report from Daft.ie. The report shows that in the third quarter of this year, the average advertised rent in the county is now €561, up 15% from its lowest point. Nationally rents rose by

The Minister for Agriculture is beiong urged to speed up the processing of full year GLAS payments for farmers. 38,000 farmers have signed up to the agri-environmental scheme, with €142m allocated in 2016. However, only €5m has been paid out in the first nine months of this year. It’s been a difficult year for farmers,

The 15 ETB Schools under the direct management of Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB) will not be impacted by the proposed strike day announced by ASTI (the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland), scheduled for implementation on Tuesday 8th November 2016. This is because the majority of teachers who work in the schools and

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has confirmed three successful prosecutions were taken against Jackson’s Hotel in Ballybofey last month. The three cases were taken following in respect of an offence on November 4th last year, with the prosecutions taken against Glide Path Limited, Jackson’s Hotel Ltd in Receivership, and Stephen Tennant, with Jackson’s Hotel,

The Education Minister has accused the ASTI of blocking a pay rise for young teachers. Three secondaty schools in Donegal are among hundreds across Ireland that remained closed today after their mid-term break in a row over wages. Members of the ASTI have refused to carry out supervision or substitution duties until they’re paid an