Author name: highlandnews

A new campaign to make walking and cycling trails in Inishowen more accessible has been launched. The Active Inishowen webpage allows individuals to book walking and cycling experiences in the peninsula. It will offer comprehensive information to help visitors plan their trips, discover new routes, and take part in organised activities throughout the year. As

A West Donegal councillor has come out against the Republic of Ireland playing Israel in UEFA Nations League matches later this year. Ireland were drawn in League B3 against the nation which has prompted controversy. Cllr Denis McGee says he would be totally against playing the game:

Planning permission has been granted for a significant social housing development at Church Road in Falcarragh. The mix of houses and apartments will include three one-bedroom dwellings, 10 two-bedroom dwellings and 10 three-bedroom dwellings. It also includes a four-bedroom community group home to be managed by the HSE. Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher is welcoming

The Leader of the Seanad is to ask Minister Dara Calleary for an update on the footpath between Carrigart and Downings. The project, which is being part funded through the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, received a second half million euro allocation from government in November with a view towards completing the project. In the Seanad

The case of the importance of PEACEPLUS funding has been raised at the EU Cllr Jack Murray was speaking in favour of protecting the money for Donegal and the border communities Cllr Murray says that investing in Peace is massive for the region and he hopes a letter to the EU Commission will be taken

  An Inishowen Cllr has raised the issue of a potential cut to Special Needs Assistants within Donegal Schools. Cllr Ali Farren says he has been informed by a Principal that their allocation of SNAs has been cut and he suspects these are going to be seen elsewhere too. The 100% Redress representative has said

A Donegal Deputy told the Dáil that in his political career, he has seldom seen the anger that has been demonstrated by the people in the county as what has been expressed over the loss of the afternoon airlink between Donegal and Dublin. The government entered a contract this week, which saw the flight, which

  Tanaiste Simon Harris and Sligo Leitrim and South Donegal TD Martin Kenny clashed in the Dail this afternoon about an RTE Prime Time programme this week highlighting deficiencies in the mental health service. Deputy Kenny highlighted the cases of two constituents who died through suicide, and accused Minister Mary Butler of making fraudulent statements

A new rail concept has been revealed by transport campaign group Into The West. ‘Metro North West’ is a plan that seeks to expand the existing rail network between Derry and Portrush into Donegal and Tyrone. The concept from Into The West builds upon ideas already included in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which has

The Assembly at Stormont has passed a motion calling on the UK government to properly regulate social media platforms and to implement proportionate sanctions on those who fail to remove illegal and harmful content or prevent it being posted. A Sinn Fein amendment was passed after the SDLP motion called for work to begin on

Changes to the rental system, including allowing landlords to reset rents to market rates, are set to begin next month. It’s after the Dail passed the Residential Tenancies Bill by a vote of 73 for and 68 against last night. It will go to the Seanad today with the overall measures set to come into

The chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee is calling on the Health Minister to sue BAM over the National Children’s Hospital. The long awaited and overbudget project is delayed again with Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill not confident the April 30th deadline will be met. She has written to the company to express her dissatisfaction and

The Taoiseach has named the former British agent Stakeknife as Freddie Scappaticci in the Dáil. The Kenova Inquiry linked the former high-ranking British army agent to murders, kidnap and torture during the Troubles, but could not name him. Scappaticci died in 2023 aged 77. Families of victims have called on the British government to officially

Letterkenny Milford Municipal District has been told 31 families are in need of housing in Milford, while 17 houses at Lough Fern Heights are lying empty. Cllr Declan Meehan told members the houses were to have been acquired by an Approved Housing Body, but that hasn’t been done because of a disagreement over price. A previous

A Joint Oireachtas Committee has been told that the downgrading of dozens of remediation applications in Donegal is flawed, because it is based on an unproven scientific assumption that Mica is the cause of the deterioration. Marti McElhinney, one of those affected, told the committee that research proves the cause is actually pyrrhotite, but that is not factored

A Donegal Deputy has criticised the Government’s approach to asylum seekers. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn was speaking during the second stage of the International Protection Bill. He said that asylum seekers were placed in communities that did not have adequate resources. Deputy Mac Lochlainn added that Donegal, in particular, has been unable to keep up

Officials at Donegal County Council have been praised after they began emergency works last week at the Rockhill Road outside Letterkenny. A number of members had submitted motions at a Letterkenny Milford Municipal District meeting after the road was badly damaged due to weather and ongoing construction work in the area. Officials acknowledged the section

Donegal has Ireland’s most active motor market, with almost one in three drivers buying their car brand new according to a recent report. The new research, from Carzone’s 2026 Motoring report, showed that Donegal has been buying and changing cars much more often than other parts of Ireland. Nearly three quarters of drivers saying that

A West Donegal Councillor says it is ‘unfair’ the Government has blamed homeowners whose properties were built on floodplains. The OPW Minister Kevin Boxer Moran yesterday issued a warning to local authorities that building on land prone to flooding will no longer be tolerated. He recently visited Elm Park in Buncrana, where homeowners are dealing

Works are set to commence on the Drumboe Woods walkway next Monday. The scenic path has been closed to the public for 13 years now, and councillors were told last year that it should be reopened once works at Finn Valley College were complete. The news has been welcomed by Councillor Martin Harley. He says

The number of homes impacted by defective blocks has risen to 9,500, an Oireachtas Housing Committee has heard. This relates to more than 6,000 properties in County Donegal, as well as houses in Counties Mayo, Clare, Limerick and Sligo. Sinn Féin TD Eoin O’Broin says a redress scheme to support homeowners impacted by the defective

The Department of Transport have been heavily criticised for their decision to proceed with the signing of the new Donegal–Dublin Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract. This would mean the afternoon flights would end next month. Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has condemned the decision to sign off on the contract, despite widespread concern from

The INMO is calling on the Government to de-escalate what it calls the “chronic level” of overcrowding in hospitals in the west and north-west, with a union official saying industrial action in the region can’t be ruled out. Its data shows of the 711 admitted patients awaiting beds across the country this morning, nearly 60%

Students at St Eunan’s College in Letterkenny say there must be progress on the campaign for a new extension after they were excluded from the ca[ital programme investment announced last month, despite being on the priority list and having planning permission in place. An online petition has over 3,600 signatures, with paper petitions also being