Author name: oisinkelly

It’s emerged that a report into proposed changes to the NowDOC’s Red Eye shifts in Donegal were rejected as unsafe by a HSE appointed panel in 2012. Deputy Pearse Doherty says he has seen the 2012 report, which raises a number of very serious questions. Caredoc, which administers the Doctor on Call service has now

A man in his fifties has died in hospital in Derry after a bicycle accident on Sunday last. Brendan Doherty of Woodside, Carndonagh was cycling in the isle of Doagh when it’s understood he hit a wall at speed. He sustained head injuries and was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital, but died there last night. Gardai

  Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education Charlie McConalogue has expressed concern following the announcement by the Education Minister that she is to carry out a review of the SNA scheme. The scheme, which was introduced by Fianna Fáil, saw the number of Special Needs Assistants increase progressively from fewer than 300 in 1997 to 8,401

  An investigation into the presence of Mica blocks in Donegal County Councils housing stock has found that many council houses may be affected. It’s estimated that over 2000 homes in north Donegal could be affected by the defective blocks. They cause cracking in external and internal walls and can lead to extensive structural problems.

Killybegs Coast Guard were called out yesterday evening to assist three kayakers who were having difficulty making it back to shore. An adult and two teenagers got into difficulty in Ratlin Sound. Killybegs Coast Guard took the kayakers on board the coast guard rib and dropped them safely back to Malinmore pier. Shane McCrudden of

An Independent Cllr has claimed that TD’s in the county have not showed enough political will to bring cancer services to Donegal. There are eight cancer centres of excellence in Ireland with the closest one to Co Donegal in Galway. Currently cancer patients in the county have to travel to Galway and Dublin for treatment.

  A 28-year-old Donegal teacher, whose careless driving caused the death of a 34 year old mother of two, has had his 12 month prison sentence suspended on appeal, providing he does community service. Declan O’Donnell, of Whitehills, Churchill, Letterkenny, had pleaded guilty at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving near Carrickmacross on January

Police in Strabane have issued a warning to parents and teenagers after a local girl was approached online and asked to send revealing photographs. According to police, the 16-year-old girl was approached by someone who claimed to be a ‘representative’ of a well-known modelling agency. Police say the contact with the 16-year-old girl started off

In a statement released this afternoon a spokesperson for the Letterkenny Community Centre said that they are a non-profit organisation. They also said that they have a long history and track record in providing for people of all ages and abilities or indeed disabilities. And they say unfortunately the centre is not in a position

A Donegal mother has said she feels let down after a local group refused to enrol her daughter because she has Down Syndrome. Amber Pyper, from Ramleton, went to enrol her five year old daughter Lily at Letterkenny Community Centre. However, she was told that she would have to provide an Special Needs Assistant to

Donegal County Council says the St Conall’s Bell and shrine exhibition at the Donegal Museum in Letterkenny has been a major success. The exhibitiion ends on Saturday afternoon, and thenm moves to Kilclooney in West Donegal, before returning to the British Museum. The council says the exhibition generated an increase in visitor numbers to the

  Five community initiatives in Donegal will compete in this year’s IPB Pride of Place Competition. They include projects in Killybegs, Gortahork, Drumfries and Dunfanaghy, as well as Donegal Youth Council, which encompasses the whole county. The Donegal projects which have been nominated are Killybegs Community Council, Coiste Pobail Ghort a’Choirce, the Sliabh Sneacht Centre

The average cost of seeing a GP in Donegal is the third lowest in the country, according to a survey carried out by the whatclinic.ie website. Nationally, GP visits cost an average of 50 euro, in Donegal, the average cost is just over 41 euro. Leitrim had the cheapest visits, averaging out at just over

A 31 year old man is due before Derry Magistrates Court today charged in connection with a cannabis seizure last year. The man has been charged with the cultivation and possession of cannabis with intent to supply. An estimated £400,000 worth of cannabis plants were seized by police from Limavady in a house at Farkland,

  NAMA is being asked to explain how it valued its Northern Ireland property portfolio for sale. The agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive are appearing before the Dail’s Public Accounts Committee today. Around 850 assets were sold in one lot for over 1.5 billion euro last year. But in the Dail last week, Independent Deputy

  Sinn Fein have made no decision on whether or not they will run a third candidate in Co Donegal in the General Election. In February sitting Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Pearse Doherty were ratified as candidates in the new countywide constituency. But there has been speculation that the party could run a third

The Tánaiste has confirmed that she will now meet with the family of the late Eddie Fullerton. Former Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fullerton was murdered by the UVF at his Buncrana home in 1991 and new evidence of collusion was presented in an RTE documentary recently. Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn had written to the Tánaiste

The US Ambassador says the publication online of parish records from the 18th and 19th centuries will increase the number of Americans visiting Ireland. Over 370 thousand images of Catholic registers from the 1740s to the 1880s are now available online at nli-dot.ie Its the biggest ever digitisation project by the National Library of Ireland,

A coroner has refused to give the police more time to disclose files to the inquest for the murdered Castlederg teenager Arlene Arkinson. Brian Sherrard said he was not prepared to extend an end of August deadline for detectives to security vet murder investigation papers on the case. 15-year-old Arlene, from Castlederg, vanished after a

The Seanad has been told that there are 450,000 sheep in Donegal, over 12% of the national stock., and a drop in lamb prices in the county is having a serious impact on farmers in the county. Senator Brian O’Domhnaill says government intervention is needed. The price is below 5 euro per kilo at present,

Sinn Fein has launched a campaign in Co Donegal aimed at building wide public support for a fair recovery. The campaign is entitled ‘A Fair Recovery is Possible’, and it will see the party engage with people on the doorsteps across the county. The party will also be handing out thousands of leaflets across Donegal in

The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission is coming under pressure to establish a protocol whereby a person under investigation is told they have no case to answer if that is the case. Fianna Fail’s Justice Spokesperson raised the issue in the Dail last evening, following the tragic death of Sgt Michael Galvin. Sgt Galvin shot himself

Members of Donegal Action for Cancer Care are to meet with representatives from the Department of Health again next month. In February it was confirmed that a general surgeon would be appointed at Letterkenny General Hospital within four months. A commitment was also been given that two locum GP’s would be appointed to support the

A Donegal Deputy has begun a campaign to remove the obligation on local sports organisations and community based festivals to pay for policing services. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says Sinn Fein will introduce legislation to amend Section 30 of the Garda Síochána Act. Last month, it emerged that a festival in Co Donegal, which did