Donegal’s two representatives will be in the spotlight at the Rose of Tralee  this evening.

23 year-old Maria McCole from Letterkenny is the Donegal Rose while Grainne Boyle, who is 24 and from Gartan, is the Dubai Rose.

The first round of the contest was held last night in Tralee.

Grainne has been explaining how she came to represent Dubai in the competition:

A Donegal County Council decision two close two roads in the west of the county while the tourism season is ongoing has been described as ill-timed and ill-conceived.

A section of the N56 is being closed between Crolly and Dungloe for six weeks, it is feared this will deter people from attending the Donegal  Shore festival which gets underway this weekend.

A second stretch of road leading to Glenveagh National Park has been closed by the council this week, management says this has lead to a daily drop of 40% in visitor numbers.

There has been further criticism of the council for failing to give prior notice that the roads would be closing.

The Road Safety Authority is rejecting claims that the new drink-driving regime sends out the wrong message.

Changes to drink-driving legislation come into force next month and will see the breath test limit being reduced. However, there won’t be an automatic ban attached to the lower limit.

Gardaí will also be given new powers under the new legislation.

They’ll be able to impose three penalty points and an on-the-spot fine of 200 euro for motorists who are caught slightly above the new legal limit of 50 milligrams.

Susan Grey of the Donegal based road safety organisation PARC says it’s sad to see that people caught over the limit won’t receive an automatic ban, but accepts it may deter people from chancing one drink. However, she’s critical that the ban for people caught between 80 and 100 milligrams will be reduced to six months.

Gardai in Inishowen are continuing their investigations into an ongoing spate of alleged arson attacks, after another fire at the weekend, this one at an empty house at Elaghbeg in Burnfoot which was extensively damaged.

Attempts were also made to burn a HSE building and another unoccupied house on Inch Island.

Gardai are treating the Burnfoot blaze as suspicious, and both they and the Fire and Rescue Service are concerned that if these attacks continue, there may be a serious injury or a fatality. Over the past two weeks, there have been over 10 incidents, including a fire at St Oran’s National School at Cockhill.

Buncrana based Garda Inspector David Murphy isn’t commenting on the specifics of the investigation, but is urging property owners to report any suspicious activity and to ensure their properties are secured, particularly if they are vacant…………

Meanwhile, Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says a number of names are being suggested within the community, and he’s urging anyone with information to come forward.

He says it’s vital that these incidents are stopped, and confirmed he himself has passed a name on to gardai……….

Paddy Mc Grath is Donegal’s latest injury worry ahead of this Sunday’s All Ireland Semi Final with Dublin at Croke Park. The Ardara man spent the weekend on the treatment table after he tweaked a hamstring in training last Thursday night. McGrath joins Michael Hegarty on the injury list. Despite playing a full club game with Kilcar in recent weeks, Hegarty had a reaction to the injury and has since been restricted in training.

This week on our sports bulletins Highland Radio will be building up to the big game with player interviews.

2011 has already been a memorable year for Donegal football. Michael Murphy lifted the Anglo Celt Cup in July as Donegal won Ulster for the first time in 19 years. The County Captain says that if Donegal play to their full potential they can be a match for Dublin.
 

It was Kevin Cassidy’s magical point at the end of extra time against Kildare which sent Donegal into the All Ireland Semi Final. The Gweedore man says it’s going to take huge believe and hard work to over come the Dubs.
 

Martin Mc Elhinney is having a big season with both county and club. Having overcome Kildare in a dramatic finish, The St. Michael’s man is hoping to make it back to back wins at Croke Park.
 

Independent Presidential candidate Seán Gallagher has urged other candidates in the Presidential election campaign to agree to a measure that could save up to 380 thousand euro of public funds for Donegal.

Each candidate is entitled to send each voter an election leaflet with a potential cost to the tax payer, if there were seven candidates of €11.63 million.

Sean Gallagher, who is expected to be endorsed as a candidate by Donegal County Council, says the money saved could be better spent elsewhere:

The Buncrana Community Combatting Suicide group has announced details of its involvement in World Suicide Prevention day next month saying it will allow the community to come together to remember those they have lost.

On September the 10th hundreds of chinese flying lanterns will be released to remember loved ones who have died through suicide  – with people in Donegal encouraged to take part.

BCCS Chairman Breda Friel says that as well as raising much needed funds, the event also allows people to come together and share their loss:

The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland has said it is not surprised to learn that the majority of convicted sex offenders in Donegal are not receiving treatment or supervision.

Treatment is not compulsory while supervision orders are issued at the discretion of the judge responsible for the case.

Clíona Saidléar of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland says that while the group does not believe in compulsory treatment, judges should give more consideration to supervision orders:

Donegal business are at a particular disadvantage when it comes to trading online.

That is according to the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association – it conducted a new survey which shows that online sales opportunities are being lost through inadequate broadband quality.

ISME’s Chief executive Mark Fielding says that while this is a country wide problem, certain areas fare worse than others:

  http://www.highlandradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ismesurvey3.mp3 

Foyle MLA Martina Anderson has said that there needs to be an increase in the number of medical graduates here.

She said that the current Accident and Emergency crisis where services are being closed or seriously curtailed is down to a shortage of Junior Doctors.

At present only Queens University in Belfast and Trinity in Dublin offer medical training in Ireland.

Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson has called for the creation of a medical school at the Magee campus in Derry: