The Labour Party has issued a statement reiterating that Cllr. Frank McBrearty is the sole candidate for the Labour Party in the Donegal South West constituency.

Frank retains the full confidence of the Party and Labour members in Donegal South West are working all-out to ensure that we can build on the progress made in the by-election, when he garnered the biggest Labour vote in the constituency since 1927, by returning him to the Dail in the general election.

The Labour Party is always interesting in speaking to those – public representatives or others – who are considering joining the Party, but nobody has been authorised to make offers of Seanad seats to anyone.  No such offer has been made to any candidate standing in the election, nor do we intend to make any such offer.

A business man who has been implicated in the media as being behind a failed investment scheme involving people in Donegal says anyone owed money will have it returned

The investment scheme is understood to involve around 200 investors from Donegal with 40 people investing from Northern Ireland.

Francois De Dietrich says the money has not been returned as the Financial Services Authority in the UK has frozen his assets.

Some Donegal investors have expressed their fear that  they have lost large sums of money in a Ponzi scheme and have been attempting to get their money back.

The amount of money feared lost in the investment scheme is estimated to be between 10 and 20 million.

In a statement released through his solicitors Francois De Dietrich, the man believed to be at the centre of the scheme, strenuously denied a number of allegations.

In it he says his businesses are legitimate and as a consequence of the actions of the FSA, various business bank accounts have been frozen resulting in the forced closure of his businesses.

Mr DeDietrich says the FSA action has left him unable to trade, which led to the loss of many jobs.

He added that his is committed to working with customers regarding full return of outstanding monies.

The statement concludes by rejecting some press and media reports that Mr DeDietrich  is the subject of an arrest warrant and that he is being sought by the police.

Those allegations have been described as completely untrue.

Donegal’s  Seamus Coleman has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with his club Everton. The winger joined Everton for £60,000 from Sligo Rovers in January 2009. He was then loaned to Blackpool in March 2010 and played for the Tangerines in their 3-2 play-off final victory over Cardiff at the end of last season. The Donegal native has been brought in to Republic of Ireland squad on one occasion but is as yet uncapped at senior level. He has impressed this season when operating both at right back and on the right of midfield for the Toffees. The 22 year old signed his previous contract only last season but has been rewarded for his outstanding form during the current campaign.

Councillor Thomas Prinlge has said he believes it was the Labour party’s intention to run him as their General Election candidate in Donegal Southwest in place of Councillor Frank McBrearty Junior.

The Councillor, who declined the offer and will run as an independent candidate, confirmed this morning that the Labour party had approached him.

He says he met a senior Labour party representative last month and was offered a senate seat, if unsuccessful in the election and told that any issues with Frank McBrearty would be sorted out.

Speaking this morning Councillor Pringle has stated he believes the Labour party wanted him to run for them instead of the already selected Frank McBrearty:
 

An Inquest jury has returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of a women who fell suffering fatal injuries.

33 year-old Caroline McCosker of Letterkenny fell on September 3rd of 2009 at the Pramerica on Letterkenny’s Kilmacrennan Road.

The inquest heard Ms McCosker, who was organising a charity event, suffered fatal injuries when she fell down stairs at work which were required to have two handrails, but which only had one.

The Dail has been told that the government’s commitment to help fund a North West Radiotherapy centre in Derry was confirmed to the North’s Health Minister just a few weeks ago.

The issue was raised in the Dail last night by Deputy Pearse Doherty, who claimed the recent statement by Minister Michael Mc Gimpsey that he has no money to run the proposed unit is a political ploy to increase his budget.

Welcoming the appointment of Donegal South West Deputy and Tanaiste Mary Coughlan to the Health Portfolio, Deputy Doherty said she should seek an early meeting with Minister Mc Gimpsey to clarify the situation:

Responding, Junior Health Minister John Maloney reaffirmed the government’s support for the Altnagelvin centre.

He said the commitment to the unit is clearly on the record:

The IFA is calling for the proposed Climate Change Bill to be abandoned in light of the setting of a date for the general election.

Earlier this week, the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee called for the bill to be put on hold, expressing concern about some of the restrictions it would impose.

the IFA says the bill is ill-timed and badly-thought, with the association’s Donegal president saying the last thing farmers need is more restrictions.

The Taoiseach and five ministers will hold talks with their Northern Ireland counterparts in Co Armagh this morning.

Among the ministers travelling north will be Minister for Energy, Communications and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan of the Green Party.

Issues for review will include the financing of cross-border organisations and the €500m promised by the Government to help fund a motorway through Northern Ireland, which will link Donegal to Monaghan.

The Taoiseach has announced March 11 as election date – he confirmed the date during an address to the Dail this afternoon.

He also assigned Ministries vacated by recent resignations as follows:

Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan is to take on responsibility for health and children.

Mr Cowen also reassigned other ministerial posts, with Pat Carey taking on transport, Brendan Smith taking on Justice, Mary Hanafin taking on Enterprise and Employment and Eamon O’Cuiv taking on defence.

The five will also continue in their own ministries.

Opposition leaders accused the Taoiseach of attempting a stroke whereby he would appoint a number of new ministers, but it backfired badly.

In a rare move Foyle Assembly members have made a united appeal to Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to deliver on the commitment to deliver a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital.

In a joint statement, MLA’s from the DUP, SDLP and Sinn Féin insisted that the centre must go ahead.

Last week the North’s Health Minister Michael McGimpsey announcing that he has the money to build the new state-of-the-art radiotherapy unit by 2015 but wouldn’t have the money to staff it.