Councillors in Buncrana are divided on whether or not a set of traffic lights should be installed at the Causeway Road / Cockhill Road junction.

Cllr Joe Doherty wants lights to be installed on safety grounds, but other councillors disagree, saying if there were traffic lights at the Causeway Road, then a nearby local business would definitely suffer.

However, Councillor Doherty says he spoke to a lot of local people, who agreed with him, that safety is paramount……..

The trial of two men accused of murdering Inishowen based businessman Paul Houston in Portugal last September has been dramatically adjourned, after a witness admitted lying in his original testiomony.

Mr Houston, owner of Houston’s Shoes on Strand Road in Derry was on holiday in Alvor, Portugal, when he was found beaten to death.

Two men denied murder, claiming self defence, but now a key witness has said one of the defendants admitted killing Mr Houston.

27 year old Jones Dos Santos and 20 year old Diago Dias both admit they were involved in a fight with Paul Houston in Portimao on September 6th last year.

However, in their evidence, they claimed they acted in self-defence during a fight, and Mr Houston was sitting up when they left him.

However, a friend of the men now admits that he lied in his evidence previously, and claims that Dos Santos said “Let’s leave because I just killed someone.”

Ebert Sergio said Mr Dos Santos was sober and knew exactly what he was doing.

The witness said he was now telling the truth because he felt guilty.

It had been thought the two would be sentenced yesterday, but that’s now been adjourned until the seventh of next month.

A father and son from Armagh who were jailed for10 and six years for possessing cannabis for sale and supply in Donegal in August 2007 have had their convictions overturned, and a retrial ordered.

The two were arrested after they accepted five parcels containing herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of half a million euro.

50 year old Kieran Smyth, and his 27 year old son Kieran Junior from Desart Lane in Armagh were arrested in Falcarragh by gardai posing as delivery men after the two took delivery of the drugs, which gardai had been tracking. They were convicted and sentenced the following year.

The men’s lawyers argued at the time that Kieran Smyth Junior had agreed to collect the items and sign for them under a false name at the request of a third party, in the belief that they were computer parts.

This week, the men’s lawyers successfully argued to the Court of Criminal Appeal that in cases of drug possession, a defendant can argue as a defence that he or she was not aware that items in their possession were drugs.

However, comments by the judge in the course of his summing up may have inadvertantly led to misdirection of the jury, by incorrectly stating that the burden of proving the guilt of the accused rested with the prosecution and that “this never shifted to the defence”.

A senior customs officer has said that those enforcing VRT laws have been the subjected of unacceptable abuse, including being spat at, by some members of the public.

Insisting that enforcement staff are respectful and courteous while doing their job,  Sean Kelleher says hostility towards them is more prevalent in Donegal than anywhere else.

Mr Kelleher says he and his staff are simply enforcing the law and has blamed anti VRT publicity for the abuse of customs officials.

The Taoiseach has thrown his support behind Derry’s bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2013.

Brian Cowen made his comments as final preparations are put to the bid which will face competition from Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield who are also vying for the title.

in supporting the bid The Taoiseach said Derry and its hinterland have a rich and varied cultural history adding that In troubled times, the city demonstrated a real spirit and a drive to overcome adversity.

He said that spirit has been harnessed by the entire community in supporting the City of Culture bid.

Hinting at the obvious benefits for Donegal if the bid was successful Brian Cowen said Derry and the wider North West region will have a golden opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of its cultural life, and its enduring warmth and vitality, to a huge audience.

On Tuesday, Northern Ireland’s first and deputy first ministers also gave their support to the bid.

Fine Gael Deputy Dinny McGinley has said the role of broadband in Donegal is not happening fast enough with many areas still without the service.

He was speaking in the wake of new OECD figures which indicated that Ireland is 29th out of the 30 countries which are covered by the economic and development group.

Deputy McGinley says that while the wireless rural broadband scheme is helping to address the issue even when available in some areas it can be unreliable:

Senator Brian O’Domhnaill is calling on the HSE to update the local community on how the proposed new Primary Health Care Centre in Glenties is progressing.

Raising the issue in the Seanad last night for the second time in three months, Senator O’Domhnaill said that at a recent meeting in the area the local parish council demanded progress.

However when pressed for a progress update, Minister Sean Haughey, who spoke on behalf of the health minister, was not able to offer any new information on the project.

Senator O’Domhnaill told the Seanad that’s not good enough:

A spokesperson for the IMPACT union says they are in no doubt that the HSE plans to shut Lifford Community Hospital with serious question marks over the The Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon.

Richie Curruthers was speaking ahead of a public protest march scheduled to take place in Lifford from 3 o’clock this coming Sunday.

The HSE has not confirmed if the hospitals are to remain open or close, saying only that the facilities are part of an overall review.

Despite this, Richie Curruthers is in no doubt of the executive’s plans:

The NRA has confirmed an additional 3.5 million euro in funding for Donegal roads.

The funding is in addition to money allocated earlier in the year by the National Roads Authority.

900 thousand euro will be spent resurfacing a stretch of the N56 between Mountcharles and Killybegs, which has been the scene of a number of local protests over the condition of the road.

650 thousand euro will be spent on a stretch of the N56 approaching Ardara , which was also the subject of local campaigning.

600 thousand euro will be spent improving a stretch between Ballylast and Castlefin while In Donegal North East 900 thousand euro will be spent on a stretch of the N13 close to the Manorcunningham Roundabout.

Welcoming the news Tanaiste Mary Coughlan praised both the NRA and Donegal’s National Roads Design Office indicating that work can start on the projects straight away with work expected to conclude before the years end.

Figures released by the EU commission this week show that youth unemployment in Ireland stood at almost 28% at the end of March, over 7% above the EU average.

Commenting on the figures, North West MEP Marian Harkin says the Irish Government must take decisive action immediately to introduce a coherent and brave employment strategy to address the current situation.

She also says it’s vital that credit is made available by the banks to allow small and medium sized businesses to invest and grow.

Ms Harkin says given that unemployment in Donegal and the West is stastically higher than the national average, it’s reasonable to assume the figure here is well over 30%……….