There’s some bad news today for around 17,000 low paid school secretaries and non-teaching staff.

The Finance Minister Michael Noonan says he will not be reversing a five percent pay cut to their wages, implemented in January.

Around 500 secretaries belonging to the IMPACT trade union have already voted to take industrial action over the pay cut – although it’s thought this action will not affect students.

Kathleen O Doherty is a school secretary in Letterkenny, and she says it’s a new government, but the same old policies:

Details of the proposed route of the N14/N15 Donegal link to the A5 through Northern Ireland will go on display early next month.

Over a million euro has been spent to date on the plans which include proposals for the New Lifford Bridge.

The stated objectives for the N14/N15 Donegal road link to the A5 are to remove a bottlebeck on the national road networks, improve road safety, reduce journey times, to reduce impact on local residents and to improve the local enviroment for residents, commercial business and trourism.

Part of the plans to be unveiled, also  include the construction a 300 metre bridge crossing the River Finn and floodplain – planners say the design takes in to consideration, and to mimimize, any ecological impact on the River Finn, flooding issues, landscape and visual impacts and archaeology and cultural heritage.

A publin information leaflet along with drawings of the proposed alignment and bridge design will be on display in Lifford and Strabane from the 4th of Arpril to the 8th of May.

Public submissions are invited and will be accepted up to the 15th of May.

An Environmental Impact Study and Compulsory Purchase Orders are schedule to be published in the summer, an Oral Hearing to be held in the Autumn with construction pencilled in from 2012 onwards.

An inquest has heard how a Letterkenny toddler, who had just learned to walk died after she was struck by a car at her home.

1-year-old Lisa Gallagher, died at her home in Drumardagh on July 23rd last year after she was struck accidentally by the car being driven by her dad Adrian.

Heartbroken father, Adrian Gallagher told Letterkenny Coroner’s Court how he had arrived home from work at 5.45pm and parked at the front of his home as there were visitors there.

He had tea and then later, at around 7.20pm, decided to reverse his car around to the back of the house where he usually parked it.

He thought he hit a kerb and then noticed his wife Carmel coming out of the back door calling to him if he had seen their baby daughter Lisa.

He then noticed the child was caught under the front driver’s door of the car.

He immediately tried to lift the wheel arch of the car and his sister Edel took baby Lisa from beneath the car.
The family rushed to contact a neighbour Ms Mary Lennon, who has been a nurse for 36 years.

Ms Lennon told the court that she tried CPR on the baby but could not find a heartbeat and she eventually whispered an Act of Contrition into the toddler’s ear.

She gave evidence that she also noticed blood on the mouth of the child’s father Adrian after he too had tried CPR on the infant.

An ambulance arrived and rushed the toddler to Letterkenny General Hospital but the child was pronounced dead a short time later.

The child’s mother, Mrs Carmel Gallagher told the court that her daughter was perfectly healthy and had only started to walk a couple of weeks before and was in and out of the house with other children on the day of the accident.

Coroner John Cannon instructed the jury to find a verdict in accordance with the Pathologist’s medical findings which they did.

And he added that he had found this paticular inquest trying, and he gave his deepest sympathies to the parents of Lisa.

Garda Sgt Niall Davey said words are meaningless for the family and offered his condolences and prayers to them.

Donegal Action for Cancer Care have said yesterdays announcement came as no surprise to them.

Spokesperson Betty Holmes said that Michael McGimpsey had said before that money wasn’t available for the Radiotherapy Unit.

She’s now called on the Irish Health Minister Dr James Reilly, to bring a radiotherapy unit to Letterkenny General Hospital:

Donegal ‘s two Fine Gael TDs say Health Minister James Reilly attends going to the first North South Ministerial Council Elections after the Assembly Elections in the North in a bid to get the proposed Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Unit back on track.

Junior Minister Dinny Mc Ginley and Deputy Joe Mc Hugh met with James Reilly last night in the wake of Northern Minister Michael Mc Gimpsey’s announcement that he is postponing the unit because of concerns over whether money will be available to run it.

Deputy Joe Mc Hugh says as recently as this week, Dr James Reilly confirmed to Michael Mc Gimpsey that the new government is committed to providing a third of the money to build the unit, with 19 million euro set aside…..

Meanwhile, this morning, Health Minister Dr James Reilly again restated his commitment to the project:

A motorist with a record of hit-run driving and who is serving a jail sentence was given another six-month sentence yesterday  for having no insurance on a separate occasion.

30-year-old father of two Peadar Toner of Glenswilly, Letterkenny told the court he was forced to drive because his pregnant girlfriend was suffering morning sickness.

Glenties District Court was told that Toner was serving a six-months sentence – with four weeks remaining – for offences linked to a hit and run drive on New Year’s Day 2010. The offence also carried a six-year ban.

He was also previously banned for four years for drink-driving in a hit and run incident in 2003.

The latest no-insurance charge happened on November 1, 2009, two months before the offence for which he is currently serving a six-month sentence.  Defence solicitor Declan McHugh said the offence at Meenmore, Fintown East, which Toner admitted, happened when he was a passenger in a car driven by his partner.

Mr McHugh said his partner was pregnant, and asked him to take over the driving because she was suffering from morning sickness.

Mr McHugh said Toner, who was in alcohol counselling and attending his AA meetings in prison, plans to marry his girlfriend on his release from jail.

Judge Denis McLoughlin jailed him for six months, to run from last January 1st.

The new Government has begun putting its first piece of legislation is going through the Dáil – but it’s a bill drafted by the previous coalition.

The main provision of the Road Traffic Bill 2011 will allow for a mandatory breath test for all drivers involved in a crash where people are injured. That’s a central demand of the road safety organisation PARC which was founded in Donegal.

However, they expressed some concerns about the bill last year after it was redrafted by the then minister Noel Dempsey.

Introducing the bill last evening, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said road safety is a major priority for the new Government:

The Chairperson of the Western Health and Social Services Trust has expressed grave disappointment at the decision to postpone the proposed radiotherapy unit in Derry.

In a statement this evening, the Western Trust says the reason why the Radiotherapy Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital is so important is that the Cancer Centre in Belfast is on record as saying it  will reach maximum capacity by late 2015.

The Western Trust says this, combined with the Cross border aspect of the proposed scheme, makes the Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Unit the only logical solution to ensure the sustainable delivery of Cancer services with equal accessibility to all patients across the North West of Ireland.

The statement concludes that the trust remains fully committed to this project, and will take all necessary steps working closely with health agencies and government personnel on both sides of the border to ensure that this matter can be given the highest priority.

Dr James McDaid has hit out at Sinn Fein after plans for a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital were postponed today.

The former Fianna Fail Deputy said if Sinn Fein implemented the same policies they’ve promised in the South, then we wouldn’t be in this position.

Speaking to Highland News, Dr McDaid, who runs his GP’s practise in Letterkenny, said he was absolutely livid at the decision to shelve the Cancer Centre.

He said Sinn Fein are saying one thing on one side of the border, and one thing on the other:

Donegal North East Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says Dr Mc Daid shows little understanding of the situation in the Northern Executive, where each minister controls his or her own budget.

He says the system is designed to protect ministers and their communities, but it can be abused, and that’s what Michael Mc Gimpsey has done……….

Northern Irelands Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has postponed plans for a new radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.

Highland Radio news learnt just before Mr McGimpsey addressed his Department that this would be the case.

He the announcement to the Assembly in a statement on his capital priorities for the next four years.

He said he was committed to the future development of the unit at Altnagelvin.

However, he said that there was not enough money in the Health Department’s budget to fund it at present.

Noelle Duddy, from Co-operating Cancer Care North West, said even though this announcement was disappointing, she still believed the radiotherapy unit would be up and running eventually…..

Meanwhile Foyle MLA Pol Callaghan said the annoucement was a very bad day for the Northwest.

He said the radiotherapy centre was too important of an issue to simply postponing…..