Fine Gael will not announce if it is to run one or two candidates in the General Election in Donegal Southwest until the selection convention is held on Sunday.

Front runners, Deputy Dinny McGinley and bye-election candidate councillor Barry O’Neill say they both would favour a two candidate approach, however Fine Gael HQ has yet decide.

Deputy McGinley would be expected to contest for the party with a single candidate strategy, however Councillor O’Neill has refused to deny he would contest for the nomination if that were the approach:
 

Meanwhile for Fianna Fail, confusion continues as to whether or not the party will run on or two candidates in Donegal Northeast.

It is understood Deputy Niall Blaney’s camp favour one candidate while party members in Inishowen believe as second candidate should be selected from there.

Speaking during the Fine Gael bill on Health Insurance, Donegal North East Deputy Joe Mc Hugh repeated calls for the completion of the new A&E unit and Medical Assessment Unit at Letterkenny General Hospital to be fast tracked.

He also called for a mechanism to be found to fill nine Junior Doctor positions at the hospital.

Both he and Deputy Mc Ginley highighted severe pressure at Letterkenny General in recent times, but Deputy Mc Hugh said the pressure reflects a problem with systems at the hospital, and not with the people who work there………..

The incoming Health Minister will have to move quickly to ensure that planned radiotherapy services go ahead as planned at Altnagelvin Hospital by 2015.

The issue was raised by Deputy Dinny Mc Ginley during the debate on a Fine Gael bill on Health Insurance last night.

Deputy Mc Ginley said the questions over whether or not the running costs of a new unit can be met must be answered as soon as possible…………

The Seanad has been told that removing the Public Service Obligation from the Aer Arran’s Derry Dublin  service will badly affect business in North and East Donegal at a time when huge opportunities exist.

Senator Keavney told the Seanad that with Derry’s stint as UK City of Culture just under two years away, this is a bad time to be withdrawing the support.

She called on Junior Minister Dick Roche to outline why the PSO was pulled from the route.

Mr Roche said it followed a comprehensive consultation……….

Responding, Senator Keavney questioned the reference to consultation in the government reply, saying it implied that the groups mentioned were recommending that the PSO be dropped.

If that were the case, she said, it would be a scandal………..

A bereaved couple’s dream of moving into the cottage they have spent the past four years restoring has been shattered by thieves.

Helen and Ian Hancock, who lost a baby three months ago, live in a mobile home but were in the final stages of completing work on the 400-year-old cottage near Raphoe.

But thieves have stolen a caravan they had been selling to finance their home. The 22-foot five-year-old Avondale caravan, worth about 10,000 euros, was being sold to fund a thatched roof.

Ian Hancock the caravan was their only asset:

Donegal investors who fear they have lost large sums of money in a Ponzi scheme are still looking for information on getting their money back.

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

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

Stephen MaGuire, from Donegal Daily, says the investors do know the person behind the scheme:

The Health Minister has announced tonight that she WILL NOT contest the general election.

Mary Harney’s announcement had been widely expected.

But it’s emerged that she’s also tendered her resignation as Health Minister.

While it hasn’t been formally accepted by the Taoiseach, she says it’s a mere formality.

The move now clears the way for a wider cabinet reshuffle with the Foreign Affairs portfolio also to be filled.

Waste Enforcement Officers from Donegal County Council have begun a clean-up operation at a house in Stranorlar.

The council have moved in to remove rubbish from a local home after complaints from locals, it is the second time a clean-up operation has taken place at the house in recent years.

The occupants of the house hit the headlines earlier this month after it was reported that a mother, father and grown-up daughter had taken to living in their car.

But speaking from the scene today, this was something the family denied, and they said they where never living in their car.

Before today the family involved where not seeking any assistance from the local authority. But after the family spoke with the acting director of environmental with Donegal County Council, Joe Peoples, they agreed to let Waste Enforcement Officers move in and begin a clean up operation. The family agreed to this, as long as, what they described as “good stuff”, wasn’t removed.

The situation involving the family has been ongoing for years, but the story only hit the national headlines when it was featured in a Sunday World Newspaper article recently.

Locals have expressed concern about the level of rubbish outside with the Council removing an estimated  two tons of rubbish from the gardens last year.

With the rubbish again beginning to pile up the Council where left with no other option today but to move in and begin a clean up.

John Duddy has announced that he is retiring from the sport after turning down a reported purse  in excess of $100,000 to fight fellow Irish boxer  Andy Lee in March. The battle of the Irish Middleweights was scheduled to take place in Connecticut. The Derry Destroyer released a statement on Tuesday morning confirming that he had retired after a great deal of soul searching  and stated that his decision is final. “ I give you my word; I will not come back”. Duddy had a very good boxing career with 29 wins out of 31 fights.

A farmer from Convoy is appealing for information after two quads bikes were stolen in the early hours of this morining.

The two red honda quads were stolen from Richard Greggs dairy farm in Convoy.

He says it’s the second time his farm has been targetted by thieves, a quad was also stolen on St Patricks 2009.

And Richard appealed for information on the latest theft, and he says the quads stolen last night are worth about 12 thousand euro: