A man in his 60s has been killed in a road crash on the Donegal town by-pass. The two-car collision happened at 4pm this afternoon.

There were two occupants in each car. One man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The three other people were taken to Letterkenny General Hospital, but their injuries are not serious. The road is closed with diversions through Donegal town.

The road is expected to remain closed until Saturday morning.

Meanwhile at least one person was taken to Letterkenny General Hospital following a collision on the Glenties to Letterkenny Road on Friday afternoon.

It is thought their injuries are not life threatening – the road was closed for a time but has since re-opened.

Gardai investigating a suspected suspicious approach of a young girl in the Ballindrait area last Friday are seeking the public’s help.

At around 4 o’clock on Friday the 15th of October a young girl was approached by the occupent of a Marron Coloured Jeep.

The girl was unharmed in the incident – gardai want to speak the occupent of the vehicle or any members of the public who saw its movements at the time.

The investigation is being lead by Garda Inspector Pat O’Donnell:

Emergency services are at the scene of a serious road traffic collision on the Donegal Town by-pass.

There are no further details at present but the road is expected to remain closed overnight – traffic is being diverted via Donegal Town.

Meanwhile at least one person was removed to Letterkenny General Hospital following a collision this afternoon on the Glenties to Letterkenny Road.

It is thought their injuries are non life threatening – the road was closed for a time but has since re-opened.

An essay competition is being launched today in memory of Henry Cunningham, the 16 year old Inishowen man who was shot dead when a van he and his brothers were travelling in was attacked by UVF gunmen in County Antrim 37 years ago.

A €500 prize has been offered to Transition year students in Inishowen by the Department of Foreign Affairs for an essay on the theme “Defending the Rights of Minorities in Ireland”.

The North’s Historical Enquiries Team carried out a review of Henry Cunningham’s killing last year, but no arrests were made.

Henry’s brother Robert Cunningham is welcoming the Irish government’s decision to fund the annual award, but says he has recently learned that despite claims there were no recorded in Dail or govenrment filed about what happened, a Donegal TD raised Henry’s death in the Dail just weeks after it happened….

The Tanaiste today defended the delay in calling the Donegal South West by-election, saying that there is a network of politicians from all parties providing representation in the constituency.

She said although he’s based in the European parliament, Pat The Cope Gallagher continues to provide a service to people locally, and there is no shortage of avenues for people to take to have their concerns raised.

She says the promise to hold the poll early next year will be uphelp, but speaking on today’s Shaun Doherty Show, Ms Coughlan said the governemnt has more pressing business at present……….

The High Court has lifted an injunction restraining a builder from cutting off sewage services to Áras Uí Dómhnaill nursing home, which is currently in receivership.

The interim order was granted last week by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy against John O’Donnell, Ballyherrin, Kilmacrennan, Letterkenny,and Kilmac Formwork Ltd of the same address, to receiver Declan Taite.

Declan Taite said the defendants had claimed they had a 2007 agreement with the operator of the Áras Uí Dómhnaill nursing home in Milford that they would be paid €500,000 for providing a connection to a new sewage treatment plant they had built on adjoining lands.

That money had not been paid and they were now threatening to sever the connection, it was claimed.

This morning, that injunction was lifted.

Solicitor Darren Gibson, who represents Kilmac Formwork, says his clients have no intention of taking any immediate action, and they’re seeking an amicable resolution………

Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has expressed concern at the rejection of her report into the Lost at Sea scheme by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

In her report on the scheme, she recommended that financial compensation of almost €250,000 be paid to the Byrne family from Donegal who she found had been wrongly excluded from the scheme. The recommendation was rejected by the Department, and has now been rejected by the committee by 9 votes to 7, with the vote breaking down along party lines.

In a statement issued last night, Emily O’Reilly says she has exhausted all the avenues open to her to get their complaint satisfactorily resolved, and stresses she remains convinced as to the merits of the case.

She says the Committee’s report suggests it has taken a view based, not on an objective and critical analysis of her report, but on the basis of the party whip system.

The implication of this, she adds, is that the Government is allowed be the judge in its own case.

Ms O’Reilly says the chain of independence envisaged by the Oireachtas when it enacted the
Ombudsman Act 1980 has been broken in this case and that can only be to the detriment of members of the public who have received unfair treatment at the hands of public bodies and rely on her office to resolve their complaints.

The farm advisory body Teagasc is urging farmers to undergo basis training in safety and risk assessment. The call comes as figures are published showing 23 deaths on farms so far this year, the highest number in almost a decade, and over twice last year’s figure.

The two most recent deaths took place just this week, which has been designated Farm and Countryside Safety Week in National Schools across the country.

John Mc Namara is the national Health and Safety Officer with Teagasc……….

Gardai in Donegal are warning drivers that extra checkpoints will in place over the October holiday weekend in a bid to clamp down on speeding and drink or drug driving.

Inspector Michael Harrison, head of the Traffic Corps in Donegal, says the target in the county this weekend is young male drivers.

He says any passengers with concerns about driver behaviour should get out of that car as quickly as possible.

Inspector Harrison is urging parents to tell their children to ring them if they need a lift, and says the concerned passengers should contact gardai using the Tough Love text line on 087 980 9999……..

As the implications of the British Chancellor’s spending review are assessed, health officials in Stormont have indicated that despite cuts in the capital spending budget, the new radiotherapy centre at Altnagelvin will still go ahead.

Foyle MLA Mary Bradley, who sits on Stormont’s Health Committee, has welcomed the assurances, and says the business plan shoud be completed as quickly as possible.

She says the Altnagelvin Unit has been designated as a priority project, and that’s an important step…….