Author name: oisinkelly

  Political leaders in the North and South say a so-called “hard” border must not happen when the UK leaves the EU. The open borders deal, set up in the 1920s, has allowed free movement of goods and people. The referendum result’s led to some speculating that there could be checks in future, with one […]

Inishowen Wind Energy Awareness Group has welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanala to refuse permission for an extension to a windfarm at Kinnego Bay Donegal County Council had already refused permission for a third turbine on Crockbrack Hill and that decision was unsuccessfully appealed to ABP by the developer. One of the reasons permission

The Education Minister appears to be ruling out legislation that would force schools into allowing generic uniforms. Richard Bruton says he will introduce a ‘parents charter’ by the end of the year so that decisions on uniforms and other issues in schools must be discussed with parents. He says he’s encouraged by the latest credit

The Imagine Communications Group has said it hasn’t scrapped its plans for a high speed broadband service in Donegal but uptake has been slow. Councillor Micheal Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig has accused the company of backing out of plans to provide broadband speeds of up 70 gig in west Donegal including Gola and Owey islands.

  A man in his 20s has died in a collision near Dunamanagh. The silver Peugeot in which he was travelling struck a bridge on the Longland Road at around 7.20am this morning. Another male who was also in the car was taken to hospital where he is currently receiving treatment for injuries that are

  A West Tyrone MLA says a sharp rise in complaints about services in the Western Health Trust is a reflection the effect of cuts imposed by the Executive. The Department of Health’s 2015/16 complaint report published this week shows 263 more complaints this year, a rise of 91% over the past five years. Daniel

An overnight security alert in the Glengalliagh Road area of Derry is over, and the road has re-opened this morning. Police say a suspicious object which was examined by army experts and declared a hoax was removed from the scene and has been taken away for further forensic examination.

Health Minister Simon Harris has told the MacGill Summer School It’s time we moved beyond using words “Angola” and “dysfunctional” to describe the health service. He said it’s a service that keeps the people of Ireland healthy and gives them great care when they fall ill. He said it’s time we stopped looking at the

A company in Derry has pleaded guilty to discharging a polluting substance into part of the River Faughan. Greenan Generation Limited, Carnmoney Road in Eglinton has been fined at Derry Magistrates’ Court. On 22 May of last year a Water Quality Inspector (WQI), acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to

The Taoiseach will attend an extraordinary meeting of the British Irish Council in Wales today. Enda Kenny will meet the First Minister for Wales, Carwyn Jones. The implications of Britain leaving the European Union will top the agenda. The North’s First Minister, Arlene Foster and the Chief Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon will also attend

Another March for Mary Boyle is taking place next week, this time in the capital. People have been asked to assemble at the GPO in Dublin on Saturday July 30th at 2pm with the demonstration continuing to the Fianna Fail headquarters. The YouTube documentary claims there was political interference in the invesitgation from a member

  Health Minister Simon Harris is visiting Donegal this evening for the official opening of the Affidea Clinic at Scally Place in Letterkenny. The new medical scanning facility has created new ten new jobs in the town with the overall cost of €2 million. Speaking at the opening a short time ago, Minister Harris says

    The Central Bank has moved to force banks to provide more information regarding their variable interest rate. It is hoped the move will help homeowners and families obtain lower rates and better deals. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says while it’s good news, it is only part of an overall solution. He says its

  Dove House in the Bogside area of Derry has been targeted by vandals again. The vandalism which included evidence of fires being set, coping stones pulled off walls and fencing damaged on the site is said to have happened at some stage on Tuesday night. Staff made the discovery yesterday morning when they arrived

After concern was expressed at the opening of a private diagnostic clinic in Letterkenny, Affidea Ireland’s CEO told Highland Radio News today that the company does not compete with hospitals, and the Letterkenny clinic provides extra capacity. Tom Finn says once fully operational, the clinic will faciitate 40 MRIs and 20 ultrasounds each day. MRIs

Police in Derry have renewed their appeal for witnesses to the collision that led to the death of a 2 year old boy on Sunday afternoon last, July 17th. Ronan Mc Gavigan died after the incident on the Lone Moor road, which involved a silver coloured Citroen Picasso car. Inspector David McIlwaine is appealing for

A 16 inch water main has burst in South Inishowen, with people being urged to conserve water as a result. The burst happened at Tooban, Burnfoot. Consumers in Carrigans, Burnfoot, Burt, Bridgend, Kilea, Manorcunningham and Newtowncunningham are being switched to alternative sources while the burst is being repaired. People are being asked to conserve water

A study of the potential impact of Brexit is to be carried out by Derry City and Strabane District Council. Members have agreed to engage with stakeholders to prepare an Impact Assessment for the Council area and wider North West region, in light of the outcome of last month’s referendum on leaving the EU. As

Health Minister Simon Harris visits Donegal today for the official opening of the Affidea Clinic at Scally Place in Letterkenny. Affidea say the clinic employs 10 people, and will serve as a primary care diagnostic scanning facility, offering MRI, Ultrasound and X-ray. Approximately 50 per cent of the patients are covered by private health insurance,

Following confirmation last week that the North West has the highest level of vacant commercial units in the country, the government is being urged to prioritise Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. The Geo Directory report revealed that Donegal was higher than the national average with just over 15% of commercial properties vacant. Sligo has the highest

Calls have been made on relevant bodies to contribute the remaining funding needed for the provision of a Hydrotherapy pool in Dungloe. It’s been a decade since the project was first established with major local fundraising initiatives taking place to assist in the costs. A Hydrotherapy pool is regarded as a huge help to those

The security alert at Spout Road in Strabane has ended. A number of suspicious objects have been removed for further examination by detectives. Meanwhile in another incident, police recovered a suspected firearm earlier today near the community centre in the Ballycolman Estate area of Strabane. It was discovered behind a row of bushes in the

  It’s been confirmed that CCTV will be installed in the City Cemetery in Derry from next week.  The decision was made by council following numerous incidents of vandalism there over the past year, the latest only last weekend. The CCTV is to be installed on a temporary basis with the contract going out to

  Police have recovered a suspected firearm near the community centre in the Ballycolman Estate area of Strabane. It was discovered behind a row of bushes in the area earlier today and has been taken away by officers from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch for examination. Detective Inspector Andy Workman said: “It is reckless in

  The North’s new Secretary of State says he doesn’t want to return to the border checks of the past with the republic. James Brokenshire has told the House of Commons he recognises the significance of the border issue following the UK vote to leave the European Union. He says solving this problem it is

Bank of Ireland is closing another eight branches in Northern Ireland, including Castlederg, Belleek, Maghera, and Draperstown. 54 staff will be affected in total, with the bank saying they can transfer, redeploy or relocate to other roles within the bank, or apply for voluntary redundancy. The bank will have 28 branches in Northern Ireland after

Latest INMO trolly watch figures show there was a sharp fall in the numbers awaiting admission to Letterkenny University Hospital in June. There were 26 awaiting admission over the course of last month, compared to 105 in June 2015. However, the INMO is highlighting a major increase nationally over the second week of July, which

There’s been an off licence robbery in Derry. Police say last night at around 10 o’clock, a man armed with an iron bar entered the premises at Sackville Street and demanded money from staff. A small sum of cash was handed over and the man then fled the scene on foot. There were no reports

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says the commitments to those in mortgage arrears in the Housing Action Plan published yesterday represent a major U-turn from the Programme for Government commitments. In particular, Sinn Féin’s Finance Spokesperson pointed to the dropping of a dedicated new court for arrears cases and a commitment to amend the Code of Conduct

  Police and Army Technical Officers are currently at the scene of a security alert in the Spout Road area of Strabane, and eight homes have been evacuated in the vicinity of the Drumrallagh estate. This follows the discovery of a suspicious object during a search of open land by officers from the PSNI’s Serious

People who live on private estates, but rent from their local council – may soon be able to buy their property as a discounted rate. Later today Fianna Fail will bring a bill before the Dail which they say corrects an anomaly for local authority tenants. It’s an issue that’s been raised on a number

The Minister for Health has agreed to extend automatic medical cards to all disabled children where families are in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. Simon Harris announced the law change in a late sitting of the Dáil last night. The Government originally planned to award the cards to around 10-thousand children after the budget, but

A Donegal County Councillor has called on the local authority to strengthen the Casual Trading Bye-laws on beaches. Councillor Noel Jordan used the example of Rossnowlagh – he says it can be chaotic on the beach in the summer with unlicenses traders operating. He is calling for a clear set of by-laws on the issue

A Councillor is calling for rumble strips to be put in place on roads leading into Carrigans in an effort to reduce the number of accidents. Councillor Paul Canning says there is an accident on average once a fortnight on the access road to Carrigans with signs unlikely to slow traffic. He says the criteria

People Before Profit will begin the process of forming a Donegal branch at a meeting in Letterkenny’s Orchard Inn this evening. It’s the first of a number of meetings taking place around the county. Among the speakers will be Eamon Mc Cann, the recently elected Foyle MLA. Also speaking will be Charlie Mc Dyer, who