Author name: oisinkelly

Two Irish men have died in an incident in Perth. At least one of the men is believed to be from the North, with unconfirmed reports he is from the Omagh area. Australian media is reporting that the two men were crushed when a concrete panel toppled from a truck. The Department of Foreign Affairs […]

Donegal Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn says the overcrowding crisis at Letterkenny University Hospital is the direct result of inadequate funding, and he is backing Emergency Department nurses 100%. Yesterday it was announced Emergency Department nurses will begin strike action on December 15th, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny calling for fresh talks between the HSE and nurses.

A Donegal Councillor is claiming an even more pressing problem is to be found in housing estates in Donegal which are not under council control. Cllr Paul Canning says there are problems developing in the treatment facilities on many such estates, but no agency is taking responsibility for them. He says Donegal County Council and

Police are advising people in the Feeny area near Dungiven to be vigilant following claims that an explosive device has been left in the area. The warning relates to the Carnanbane Road, and comes a fortnight after an operation to find and clear a device near Drumsurn lasted three days.

Suggestions that a “superpub” could be developed at the site of Letterkenny Courthouse in two years time have been criticised by a Donegal TD. The Courts Service are expected to shortly begin work on the new courthouse building on High Road, and Deputy Thomas Pringle says the current building should be used as a community

  Serious concerns have been raised about the survival prospects of golden eagles in Donegal. A conservation group has claimed that the birds are in a critical condition, and facing starvation on the Donegal mountains. The Irish Wildlife Trust is warning the project to reintroduce the species to Donegal, is at risk of failure because of a lack

A new report has found raw sewage is being discharged into rivers, lakes and coastal areas in 45 locations around the country. This Urban Waste Water report from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that of the areas where raw sewage is being pumped into rivers, lakes and coastal areas – more than half are in

  A 25-year-old Derry man has appeared in court charged with possessing drugs valued at £21,000. Gavin Fisher whose address was given as c/o Maghaberry Prison was charged with possessing cocaine, a class A drug, and clephodrone, a class B drug with intent to supply on July 1. He also faced two other charges of

Emergency Department nurses will begin strike action on December 15th. INMO members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action up to and including strike. Local INMO Industrial Officer Maura Hickey says a rolling series of two hour strikes will take place to highlight overcrowding and working conditions in Emergency Departments……..

The Health Information and Quality Authority has begun a national quality assurance review of antimicrobial stewardship. The review, which involves all acute hospitals, follows the announcement from China last week that a newly discovered gene has made some infectious bacteria resistant to the last line of currently available antibiotics. HIQA spokesperson Sean Egan says antimicrobial

It’s emerged that a temporary doctors’ surgery may be established in the Castlefinn Partnership Initiative building after flooding caused serious to the village’s health centre last week. The Castlefinn health centre is a satellite of the centre in Lifford, but the doctors who run the service say Lifford does not have the capacity to take

A 23-year-old man has been shot several times in both legs in the Brandywell area of Derry. The attack, which police are describing as callous, happened in the living room of a house at around 11 o’clock last night. There were two gunmen involved. The man is being treated at Altnagelvin Hospital for gundhot wounds

Police are advising motorists of traffic disruption in the North West area on the following roads from approximately 10am due to the road movement of an abnormal load. It left Lisahally at 10, and is expected to arrived in Killeter Village at 1pm, travelling via Strabane, Victoria Bridge and Castlederg

The INTO has broadly welcomed the announcement that 13 Donegal schools will benefit from the capital programme announced recently by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, and renewed its call for a specific commitment to scrap pre-fabs in schools within five years. The union acknowledges that the number of prefabs has been reduced, but says the government

A 25 year old man is due at a special sitting of Derry Magistrates’ Court today over a £21,000 drugs seizure in the city. Cocaine worth £12,000 and Clephedrone worth £9,000 were seized when police searched a flat in the Waterside in July. The accused has been charged with possession of Class A and Class

A Donegal Deputy has claimed there is no end in sight to Donegal’s high youth unemployment rate. Figures suggest there are currently around 2,400 young people unemployed in Donegal. Responding to Deputy Pringle’s question in the Dáil, Minister Joan Burton ruled out any commitment to restore Jobseekers’ Allowance for those under 26. The Minister stated

New signage has been officially unveiled to mark Letterkenny’s Tidy Towns success, and welcome tourists to the area. Municipal District Mayor Gerry McMonagle says it’s fitting that Letterkenny now publicises the achievement and uses it as an advantage……….

  The search for missing Derry man John Concannon is continuing today with the main focus of the search in the Burt area in Donegal. Mr. Concannon has been missing for almost two weeks now. Family members believe because Mr Concannon suffers from dementia, he could have went back to his mother’s birthplace in Burt

The President of the District Court says “inaccurate, unbalanced and incomplete reporting of a statistical trend is a disservice to public interest”. Her comments come after the Courts Service came out last month to defend the rate of drink-driving convictions. Last month, figures to Independent TD Tommy Broughan from the Department of Justice showed only

This Wenesday is the deadline for registering to vote in the upcoming General Election. The National Youth Council of Ireland is encouraging young people to register to vote for the first time – and reminding people to make sure they’re able to vote by visiting Check-the-register-DOT-ie. Almost 60-thousand young people have turned 18 since last

A prominent anti-drugs campaigner in Donegal says while its to be welcomed that gardai are finally getting equipment to detect people driving under the influence of drugs, the fact that drug units have been dismantled in Donegal and elsewhere on the border remains an issue. PJ Blake was speaking to Greg on the Shaun Doherty

It’s emerged that Donegal has the country’s second highest amount of flood risk areas, second only to Cork. An analysis of flood risk areas in today’s Irish Independent shows 33 risk areas in County Cork, followed by 28 in Donegal. The findings are based on a study of recent reports published by the OPW.  

New figures show An Garda Siochana took in €1.8 million for policing private events in the first six months of this year. There have been concerns the cost of policing small, local charities and festivals is too high. It has been claimed in County Donegal, a charity had to foot the bill of 4 thousand

It’s been claimed the Castlefinn Health Centre will not re-open for at least 4 months due to extensive damage caused by flooding last week. According to reports, a temporary location is now being considered due to the overwhelming influx of patients at Lifford Health Centre since Castlefinn’s closure. One of the main reasons cited for

  There’s good news for  Sinn Féin and Fine Gael in the latest opinion poll. The Red C tracking Poll in today’s Sunday Business Post shows support for Enda Kenny’s party is up by one point since last month to 31% – its highest level of support since 2012. Sinn Féin has risen two points in