The Housing Minister is visiting Donegal today for a number engagements.

Minister James Browne is due in the County Offices in Lifford later to discuss housing matters with Council Officials while he will also meet with local Cllrs over progress on the defective concrete block scheme.

He's also set to meet with affected homeowners and will visit some defective block houses.

Donegal Fianna Fail Cllr Martin McDermott who is also Chair of the Defective Concrete Block Committee says his visit will be crucial in hopefully addressing a number of key issues:

A Sligo Leitrim TD has strongly criticised protestors that protested outside the home of a Donegal Councillor at the weekend.

A number of people gathered outside the home of Mick McMahon on Saturday to protest against IP applicants being housed in Bundoran.

Deputy Martin Kenny has strongly criticised their actions.

He says Councillor McMahon has given years of service to public life and should not be targeted in such a manner  

It’s understood that on Saturday evening, a group of people marched to the office of the Sinn Fein Councillor   which is located in his family home it’s claimed they used a loud hailer.

Ocean FM understand that Councillor McMahon was attending the Ulster final at the time.

It’s estimated that there were anywhere between 100 to 150 demonstrators.

The group protested in opposition to the development of an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre adjacent to a Bundoran primary school.

A Sligo teacher and General Secretary of the ASTI is warning this morning that teachers will take further measures if they reject proposals to reform the leaving cert.

Secondary School Teachers are to vote on whether or not they accept proposals outlined in the Senior Cycle Redevelopment document published on the 8th of May.

The document contains a list of support measures for teachers in implementing changes to the leaving cert.

Sligo native, Kieran Christie is the General Secretary of The ASTI, Kieran Christie says they will take further measures if its members vote to reject proposals:

The Buncrana community in Donegal is attempting to come to terms this morning with the tragic events of the weekend which claimed two lives of two teenagers.

They died after getting into difficulty in Lough Swilly.

16 year old Emmanuel Familola, originally from Nigeria, died in hospital yesterday morning, after being rescued from the water on Saturday afternoon.

The body of 18 year old Matt Sibanda, from Zimbabwe, was recovered on Saturday night.

Local councillor, Jack Murphy, says the community is rallying around the families:

A Donegal community has been plunged into shock and sadness following the passing of two teenagers in a swimming tragedy.

The Coast Guard were alerted to a report of three teenagers in difficulty in the water at Lough Swilly at around 4pm on Saturday.

One teenager’s body was recovered from the water while another who was brought to Letterkenny University Hospital has since died.

The third teenager managed to swim to safety and was also transferred to hospital.

The coroner has been notified, and post-mortem examinations will take place.

Joe Joyce from Lough Swilly RNLI says every effort was made to save their lives:

A Donegal community has been plunged into shock and sadness following the passing of two teenagers in a swimming tragedy.

The Coast Guard were alerted to a report of three teenagers in difficulty in the water at Lough Swilly at around 4pm on Saturday.

One teenager’s body was recovered from the water while another who was brought to Letterkenny University Hospital has since died.

The third teenager managed to swim to safety and was also transferred to hospital.

The coroner has been notified, and post-mortem examinations will take place.

Local Councillor Jack Murray says the community will remain strong to support each other:

Donegal are celebrating a 12th Ulster senior football title after Saturday evening's dramatic one-point extra-time victory against All-Ireland champions Armagh.

Paddy McGill attempts to take it all in - in the company of Manus Boyle, Emer Gallagher and Martin McHugh - with additional post-final contributions from Colm McFadden, Paddy McGrath, MacCumhaill's manager Gary Wilson & The Donegal Democrat's Alan Foley.

More than half of Pharmacists claim shortages in medicines have "significantly increased", while 78 per cent still expect the situation to worsen over the next 12 months.


A survey, conducted between March and April, by the Irish Pharmacy Union revealed 83 per cent borrow stock from other pharmacies to ensure continuity of care.


Pharmacists and their teams now spending over 6 hours per week managing shortages


President of the Irish Pharmacy Union, Donegal-based, Tom Murray says pharmacists should be given the authority to prescribe an alternative treatment:

A Leitrim Councillor is urging the Local Authority to urgently review the conditions being imposed on forestry companies when it comes to the removal of timber.

Following recent storms, a larger than normal amount of wood is expected to be extracted from plantations across the County this year.

As a result, it's expected that the increased amount of heavy goods traffics will put many secondary roads under serious strain.

Drumkeerin-based Councillor Mary Bohan says moves should be made now to make sure that forestry companies will be held responsible for any damage they cause.

The success of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant in Donegal has been praised locally.

As of the end of March 2025, Donegal County Council had received 1,114 applications, of which 811 have been approved, with over €7.4 million issued to applicants on completion of works.

New applications are continuing to be submitted to the local authority, as there is no closing date to the scheme.

Cathoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Niamh Kennedy, says the scheme is helping tackle the housing crisis in the county: