Over 300 people, including a group of 15 schoolchildren from St Johnston. were rescued from the Glenshane Pass in County Derry last night after drifting snow caused traffic chaos.

A PSNI operation was launched in the area, with help sought from mountain rescue personnel across the North West, including the team in Donegal.

Coincidentally, it was the Donegal Mountain Rescue team which located the St Johnston bus.

Joe Pond was one of the rescuers…….

The St Johnston group eventually arrived home at 5.30 this morning.

Other people had to stay in hastily arranged temporary accommodation. Initially, people were brought to a community centre in Dungiven, but had to be moved to the Roe Valley Centre in Limavady and a GAA premises in Maghera after a power cut hit the Dungiven facility.

There are a number of houses without power in Donegal as a result of the weather, with the effects of the snow being compounded by high winds.

The number of planning permissions granted in Donegal has halved.

Figures released today by the CSO show there were 289 less planning permissions granted by Donegal County Council in the final quarter of last year, compared to the same period in 2008.

In the last three months of 2009, Donegal County Council granted 295 planning permissions, compared to 584 in the last quarter of 2008.

This represents a drop of 289, just under 50%.

When the figures are broken down, the extent of the fall off in the housing market is revealed.

There were 114 permissions granted for new dwellings in the last three months of last year, compared to 324 in 2008. That’s a fall of 65%.

113 extensions were approved during the same period in 09, compared to 157 in 08, a drop of 28%.

There was also a significant drop in the number of retail, commercial and industrial premises given permission, with 55 last year compared to 85 in 2008, a drop of 35%.

The group calling itself Republican Action Against Drugs has claimed responsibility for the placing of an explosive device outside the Yutopia shop on Letterkenny’s Pearse Road on Sunday night.

The device was foind by Garda at 1am on Monday morning, and dealt with by a n army EOD team who carried out a controlled explosion at 6.30 yesterday morning.

According to the Donegal People’s Press, a statement issued by the group said its Donegal unit placed the device, and this would be the first and only warning to the shop, which sells legal highs.

The British government hopes the report of the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday will be published before the UK general election.

Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said he would do all he could to make the document available soon.

The Bloody Sunday families issued a statement in response, saying they were glad to hear Mr Woodwards comments, but they said that the Secretary of State should “pull out all the stops” to publish the inquiry report before the forthcoming election.

Micky Mc Kinney, brother of William Mc Kinney who was murdered on Bloody Sunday, says the families should also be given a few days prior warning of any release date.

Monday’s  monthly meeting of Donegal County Council was abandoned after a row erupted between acting Chairperson David Alcorn and Councillor Frank McBrearty. 

In scenes that one councillor described as ‘ a farce’ the two traded insults with each accusing the other of trying to trying to gain publicity in their actions. 

In scenes that are becoming the norm at County House, Lifford, yesterday’s meeting was first adjourned for ten minuted before the meeting was abondoned following continious rows among some councillors. 

Frank McBrearty was proposing a motion calling on the government to lift the public sector recruitment embargo, however he accused Councillor Alcorn of misrepresenting his views, a claim rejected by councillor Alcorn. 

A strong exchange of views ensued with both men on there feet shouting their points of view before the meeting was halted altogether at 4.30pm. 

There were accusations of bullying and of people acting like dictators before Councillor McBreaty warned the media to ‘be careful’ in how they report the events. 

One councillor said that if such scenes countinue public respect for the council will be lost, another suggested that the party whips meet to try and avoid future rows erupting. 

In the end, as a result of the disruption, little of the monthly agenda was discussed – Councillors Barry O’Neill and Gerry Crawford both pointed out that important issue, like the future of Lifford and Ballyshannon care homes, were being put back to the next meeting 

The County Manager says he is hopeful that work on the Greencastle Harbour Project will now be able to continue in the coming years after the council managed to raise money for its share of the funding.

Earlier this year the government said it was withdrawing from the project blaming Donegal County Council who had yet to contributing its agreed match funding.

However the council has now paid 45% of the close to one million euro it owes the government with the rest to be paid before the end of the year.

Funding has also been sourced to pay the council’s share should the government find the money to complete the project in full.

To date eight million euro has been spent constructing a breakwater in the harbour, the county manager says he is now hopeful the government will provide funding to complete the project:

Donegal County Council has agreed unanimously to call on the government to ban ‘head shops’ and the legal highs that they sell.

Councillor Thomas Pringle had proposed the motion which will now be forwarded on to every local authority in the county seeking support.

There are at least five head shops operated in Donegal which sell legal products that mimic the effects of illegal drugs

A Strabane parish priest has said he “deeply regrets” that Catholic Church authorities didn’t tell him about the past of a cleric they placed under his roof.

Moville native, Fr Declan Boland insisted he wouldn’t have allowed Fr John McCullagh to live in the parochial house in Strabane if he had known about his secret payment to an alleged abuse victim.

His thoughts on the scandal emerged yesterday when he addressed parishioners during Mass.

Earlier this month it was reported that Fr McCullagh allegedly paid £12,000 to a woman who claimed she was abused by him.

Before ending Mass yesterday, Fr Boland read a short statement to parishioners in which he spoke of his personal distress at the events.

He said he had been unaware of the full details of Fr McCullagh’s past. When they did emerge, he said he had acted “swiftly and decisively”.

He told parishioners Fr McCullagh had been offered accommodation there by the former parish priest, and he had used it “from time to time”.

Fr Boland said he was familiar with Fr McCullagh’s circumstances “only to the extent of knowledge available in the public forum”.

He ended his statement by saying he appreciated the trust and confidence which parishioners had placed in him.

Donegal TD Dr James Mc Daid says he believes many of his party colleagues would vote against the Government if it sanctioned pay increases for the public sector.

Talks between union and government officials were adjourned until 7 o’clock this evening following marathon discussions over the weekend.

The talks focussed on reform of the sector, however the issue of pay was not discussed in detail. Dr Mc Daid, who currently does not hold the Fianna Fail whip says he believes public sector pay will not increase in the current climate.

Figures published today have given an indication as to how many businesses have closed in Donegal with the Glenties elecoral area the worst affected.

The council, for 2008, has written off almost 17% of rates due in the Glenties Electoral area, far in excess of other areas of the county.

The level of rates written off by the council as irrecoverable in areas was 6.7% in Inishowen, 3.3 in the Donegal Electoral area, 8.9% in Letterkenny and 1.4% in Stranorlar.

While all of the rates that cant be recovered are not all associated with businesses closing, the County Manager Michael McLoone said it was a strong indication of the level of business closures.

A report is to be compiled looking at the extent of businesses closures in the County.

Independent Glenties Area Councillor Seamus O’Domhnaill says the situation needs to be addressed: