Author name: highlandnews

A Donegal bus company says one of their drivers was left terrified after a group of young men vandalised one of their vehicles on Saturday night. The windows of a McGettigan Travel bus were smashed and the group attempted to burn the driver with lit cigarette butts and set the bus on fire with them. […]

Gardaí are appealing for information after two men died and two more were seriously inured in a collision in Castlefin on Friday night. Friends Ryan Glenn and Gordy Galbraith died when their car was in direct collision with another car on the N15 in Liscooley, at around 10pm. A man and a woman in their

Local businesses and residents have been left reeling following serious flooding in Killybegs over the weekend. Storm Bert hit the county, with heavy rain and thawed snow combining to contribute to the flood. Waters rose to around 1.2 metres, with a number of residents being displaced and accessing emergency accommodation. Grainne Cafferty owner of Donegal

It’s being claimed there are large financial holes in the manifestos of the three biggest political parties. It’s reported Fine Gael has a hole of 56 billion euro, Fianna Fail is short 55 billion euro and Sinn Fein’s would be 85 billion euro. The Business Post is reporting they’re too reliant on corporate tax receipts

Comprehensive and sustained growth is being reported by the Irish League of Credit Unions. The financial institution says credit union loans now total nearly 6 billion euro up 11.2 per cent on last year. It says the increases are the highest in 15 years, with mortgage loans increasing by 51 per cent. David Malone, CEO

The impact of Storm Bert is still being felt in Donegal this morning. A yellow warning for wind remains in place in the county until 8am. There’s a risk of fallen trees, debris and difficult travelling conditions. Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather says the weather will improve in the coming hours.

Donegal County Council should be employing more support staff in every municipal district, according to Cllr MIchael Cholm McGiolla Easbuig. The West Donegal representative says the local authority should have more social workers and tenant liaison officers, but most importantly, it should be employing its own occupational therapists. The council uses OTs from the HSE,

A pre-election debate heard how a secondary school in Letterkenny is struggling with a lack of SNA’s. Loreto Milford has a student population of over 800, but is only entitled to 5.5 special need assistants. As a result, one member of staff has had her timetable changed six times since the start of the academic

The Taoiseach says he is “the man in charge” and is determined to fix the housing crisis. According to the Central Statistics Office, the average age of an Irish home buyer is 39. Fine Gael’s housing policy pledges to build 300 thousand homes in the next six years and allocate €40 million to housing over

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre says the verdict in the civil case against Conor McGregor sends a strong messages to other survivors. On Friday, McGregor was ordered to pay almost 250 thousand euro in damages to Nikita Hand, who accused him of allegedly raping her in a Dublin hotel six years ago. Rachel Morrogh, Chief

The Labour leader is defending plans for a left alliance after the election. Ivana Bacik says she’d like to explore the possibility of forming a pact with other left-leaning parties like the Social Democrats and the Greens. But Social Democrats’ co-founder Catherine Murphy responded yesterday by saying Labour has never suggested a merger or invited

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald claims rotating Taoisigh during the last government left the public “dizzy”. With five days left on the campaign trail, the opposition leader says speaking to all parties to form a coalition government is the “grown up thing to do”. Mary Lou McDonald says the objective for the party is

Support for Fine Gael has dipped as a resurgent Sinn Féin are breathing down their necks. That’s according to the latest Sunday Independent Ireland Thinks poll which has Fine Gael leading on 22 per cent, down 4, followed by Sinn Féin on 20, up 2. Fianna Fáil remain the same on 20 per cent support.

Heavy flooding has struck Killybegs this morning, with a number of homes and businesses being affected. Councillor Manus Boyle said in a social media post the flooding has receded after the removal of a tree that was obstructing the flow of the river. Emergency crews had been working overnight to lessen the impact for those

Esb networks say over 6,000 homes and businesses are without power in Donegal this afternoon. All parts of the county are affected, with the biggest outages being reported in Inishowen, West Donegal and Fanad. It is estimated that power will be restored by 8pm this evening in most areas. ESB Networks say they are assessing

A Self Advocacy Conference is taking place in Donegal next week. The event aims to highlight the challenges faced by people with disabilities in the county while showcasing the impact of self advocacy. The conference gets underway on Tuesday Jackson’s Hotel, Ballybofey. Edel Quinn, Head of Disability Services for Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo

The need for speeding and parking issues at Gortlee Graveyard in Letterkenny is back in the spotlight. An Active Travel scheme proposed for the route is currently at design stage. Councillor Ciaran Brogan says given the number of people attending the graveyard, efforts need to be made to protect their safety:

Fianna Fail has committed to invest €2 billion in rural towns and villages. The party launched its manifesto for rural Ireland today. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue says farmers will receive a boost as well in the form of €278 million per year. He says it’s about breathing life into rural areas:

People in the West and North West are most likely to have a medical card, according to the CSO. The region encompassing Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway had a population of over 750,000 people at the time of the 2022 census. 34% of people had a medical card, while 11% had a GP

Aontú says if elected into Government, they will roll out Operation Shamrock to bring construction workers home to address the housing crisis. Donegal Candidate Mary T Sweeney says the move will bring thousands back to Donegal, with a €15,000 incentive. It includes €5,000 of vouchers to cover relocation costs and tax credits worth €10,000 over

Local issues need to be discussed in the run up to the General Election. That’s according to Author and Journalist Kathy Donaghy. Speaking to Greg Hughes on this morning’s Nine ’til Noon Show, Ms. Donaghy says economic disparity must be a key consideration for candidates. The Inishowen based writer added that simple local issues such

Living at home can often leave young people feeling stuck in their adolescence. That’s the opinion of a Senior Clinical Psychologist who says independence plays a huge role in people’s development. Census 2022 found, 41% of people aged between 18 and 34 were living with their parents, a 13% increase on 2016. Anne Kehoe says

Ireland’s two-tier health system is failing public cancer patients, who are not getting the same potentially lifesaving cancer treatments, as those being treated in private hospitals. According to the Irish Cancer Society, private patients have swift access to EMA approved anti-cancer drugs, but public patients must wait on average two years to find out whether

There’s ongoing frustration over the lack of a dedicated litter warden for the Lifford Stranorlar Municipal District. Currently, the area shares a litter warden with the Inishowen MD. Cllr Patrick McGowan believes the allocation of resources is unfair, given that Inishowen already has a full-time warden. He says the geographical spread of the Lifford Stranorlar