Author name: oisinkelly

A Co. Donegal man who admitted sex act on a bus travelling from Dublin to Derry has been jailed at Derry Crown Court. 39-year-old Patrick Gavin Porter of Grange, Inch Island, pleaded guilty to committing an act outraging public decency on June 22, last year. The court heard that a female passenger, who got on the bus

Fine Gael Deputy Dinny Mc Ginley is stressing that there is no question of PPS numbers being handed to Irish Water. Can’t Pay Won’t Pay have accused the government of deception after it emerged that persons applying for the Water Conservation Grant will have to state their PPS numbers. Particular concern has been expressed at

A formal announcement is expected shortly on a service agreement which will see Donegal patients with severe heart conditions treated at the new Cardiac Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. MInister Varadkar confirmed the deal during a visit to the unit yesterday on the fringes of a North South Ministerial Council meeting with his Stormont

A Midlands North West MEP is claiming that mismanagement by successive Government departments has led to a situation where hill farmers do not know whether or not their land qualifies for payments under the new Basic Payment Scheme. Marian Harkin says farmers are facing a Catch 22 at the moment – If they apply for

A Sligo based senator says the mortgage-to-rent scheme is in need of a radical overhaul after receiving figures that show just two cases have been completed in the North West since the scheme’s launch in 2012, neither of them in Donegal. Nationwide, the figure is 88. Senator Marc Mac Sharry says in theory, the mortgage-to-rent

Cant Pay Wont Pay have said that the government has misled people regarding the handing over of PPS numbers to Irish Water. It’s aftter it was revealed that a private company will take PPS numbers and banking details from Irish Water customers unable to apply for the €100 water conservation grant online. Workers at a

Members of Donegal County Council are calling for a commitment from the Government regarding the Bonagee Link in Letterkenny. The Bonagee Link is seen as crucial in aleviating traffic delays in and out of Letterkenny. Three years ago the National Roads Authority bought ‘Martin’s Great Gas’ Filling Station and a house, which are seen as

Donegal Junior Minister, Joe McHugh has defended the Health Minister for not visiting Co Donegal yesterday while he was in Derry. Leo Varadkar attended a North South Ministerial Meeting at Altnagelvin Hospital yesterday, during which he viewed progress at the new Radiotherapy Unit. However, Minister Varadkar didn’t have time to come across the border to

A suspicious object at the centre of a security alert in Strabane, Co Tyrone, was a viable explosive device. It’s understood the item was discovered by a man walking with his two daughters in the Ballyheather Road yesterday evening. Police and the Army bomb squad attended the scene and the road was closed overnight. The

    The Chief Executive of the Education and Training Board in Donegal has confirmed that Colaiste Chineal Eoghan, the Irish Language secondary school in Buncrana is to be closed on a phased basis. Speaking on today’s Shaun Doherty Show, Sean Purcell said enrolment numbers have been significantly below predicted levels for a number of

  The members of the Letterkenny Municipal District have committed themselves to supporting the Lough Swilly Ferry, which will shortly be going to tender. The service didn’t run last year after the previous operator said the subvention available from Donegal County Council was not enough to make the service commercially viable. Mayor Cllr Michael Mc

The Minister for Health will visit Derry today to view progress on the North West Radiotherapy Unit. The cross border unit at Altnagelvin Hospital, which is being part funded by the Irish government, will cater for 90 per cent of suitable cancer patients in the North West of the island. Minister Leo Varadkar will also

  There are road closures in effect on the Derry side of  Strabane as a result of a security alert which has been ongoing since last night. The closures affect parts of the Ballyheather Road and the Ballylaw Road in Artigarvan. Diversions are in place.

A Donegal County Cllr has claimed that the county could lose out on hosting the Irish Open because of coastal erosion. Currently the 14th hole of Ballyliffin Golf Club is only a metre away from being taken away by the sea. The club want to carry out work to stop the erosion, but this is

An 18-year-old Strabane man accused of trying to rape a girl aged 15 while on police bail for allegedly raping a 19-year-old woman has been remanded into custody. Ross Donahoe, of Altiskane, Strabane, was charged at Enniskillen Magistrates Court with raping the woman on March 22, and attempting to rape the girl two weeks later.

The prospect of a major gold find in Donegal has been raised once again following the announcement that a mining company has been granted five new prospecting licences covering 187 sq km on the Innisowen peninsula. Conemara Mining’s geologists believe there is a very good chance of making a high grade gold find in the

The Chief Executive of Donegal County Council says there is no question about the solvency of the organisation. Seamus Neely has issued a statment responding to the recent publication of a government overview of the work of the Local Government Auditors. It found that Donegal and Sligo had the two biggest deficits in the country.

Concerns have been raised following a creeper burglary at a house in the Gleneagles area of Derry. At approximately 5 am on Saturday morning, two men entered the house and when confronted by the occupant left. It is thought they took the keys of a blue Octavia Skoda and returned later and made off in

A Donegal County Councillor has called for an end to political parties being funded by public funding. The State currently provides €14.3m every year to four political parties: €4.9m to Fine Gael; €3.1m to Labour; €2.8m to Fianna Fail; and €1.8m to Sinn Fein, and €1.67 to independents. Cllr Dessie Shiels raised his concerns at

Calls have been made for Donegal County Council meetings to be webcast. A number of councils in Ireland already broadcast their meetings online, while proceedings in the Dail and Seanad are broadcast on a daily basis. Cllr Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Eaispaig says the council should look at how much it would cost. And he

A lorry driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving following a fatal crash in County Tyrone. The two vehicle collision happened on the Melmount Road between Sion Mills and Victoria Bridge just after 10pm on Saturday night. Albertas Daskevicius, from Ballykelly, County Derry, was charged over the death of Sean McIlwee on

  A new tourism survey finds that 44% of visitors to Ireland reported that their trip exceeded their expectations, while 55% had their expectations met. The list of reasons for exceeding expectations was topped by the friendliness of the people, followed by irish people, Scenery, hiostory and culture, and the weather being better than anticipated.

A Donegal County Councillor has called for a freeze on granting planning permissions on windfarms until new guidlines are adopted. Cllr Gary Doherty says the increasing size of turbines being proposed means the guidlines in exsistence are not fit for purpose. The Council passed a motion today calling on the Environment Minister to introduce a

Foyle MP Mark Durkan says there will be ‘consternation and frustration’ in the North West after it emerged today that work on a second major upgrade of the Derry to Coleraine railway line has been delayed by a further four months. Mr Durkan expressed concerned that once again, key months are being lost on a

Right2Water Donegal staged a protest at this mornings adjourned meeting of Donegal County Council. The group were protesting at the handing over of County Council housing tenants details to Irish Water, despite a motion from councillors urging him not to do so. One member of the group, Margo Mc Grory, handed a letter of objection