Author name: highlandnews

Specific targets to tackle homelessness need to be included in the upcoming Budget. That’s according to Depaul, which is calling for at least a thousand children to be removed from homelessness by next summer. Another record high of 16 thousand 353 people in emergency accommodation was recorded in August – with an increase of 131

The Government has been accused of letting energy companies rip people off. In recent days, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says the Government is making things worse by allowing energy companies continue to hike prices. Energy price increases announced by Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity and Energia are set to come into effect next month. The

The Jim Lynch Community Building in Letterkenny has been officially opened. Minister Dara Calleary officiated the opening last evening. €300,000 in funding was provided under the Community Centre Investment Fund to Letterkenny Community Centre to fund the extension. Community Centre Manager, Liam O’Donnell, says it is fitting that the new building has been named in

Technological Universities are before the Oireachtas Higher Education Committee this morning to highlight the need for student accommodation. It’s hearing from representatives from ATU in the North West, TU Dublin, SETU in the South East, TUS Midlands and Midwest, and Munster Technological University. Many of the technological universities have no on-campus accommodation and are primarily

The EPA says Ireland will struggle to meet stricter air quality targets on the way from the EU. The latest air quality report from the environmental watchdog shows standards are good and currently meet EU requirements. However, the Environmental Protection Agency says pollution from traffic and solid fuel will need to be reduced to meet

A Donegal councillor is questioning whether there is a clear transition process for children in the care of the Donegal Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service entering mainstream mental support when they become adults. In response to a question posed at a meeting of the Regional Health Forum this week, he was told there is

The government is being urged to prevent further physical and psychological damage to the children of the defective concrete crisis. Speaking in the Dáil on a motion regarding Child Poverty and Homelessness, Deputy Charles Ward said hundreds of children in Donegal face homelessness, and hundreds more are living in crumbling, unsafe homes, due to the

Ballybofey remains the place with the highest commercial vacancy rate in the country. The commercial vacancy rate in Donegal was 20.3% in June 2025, which was higher than the national average of 14.6%. According to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report, that’s an increase of 0.9% when compared to the same period the previous

The Dail has heard how the closure of the Donegal ISPCA centre is detrimental to animal welfare in the North West. It’s after last week, 14 dogs found in horrific conditions were seized by Gardai in Glenties. The ISPCA cited financial reasons for the closure of the centre in Ballyare. In response to Donegal Deputy

A judge has ruled hearsay evidence in the trial of Soldier F in connection with the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry is admissible. It means the trial will continue. 13 people were killed when members of the army’s parachute regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in 1972. The former paratrooper – who can’t

Figures presented to the HSE’s Regional Health Forum show a decrease of 18% in the number of people awaiting home help services in Donegal. At the end of August, 334 people were awaiting a home support service in the county, 221 of whom were awaiting the provision of a new service. Officials acknowledged that Donegal

The Dail has been told that the Defective Concrete Scandal is a national emergency which the Government has willfully mismanaged for over a decade. Donegal Deputy Charles Ward told the Dail 40% of impacted homeowners are living with severe depression, while the Government continues to claim people are being looked after. The truth, he said,

A Donegal Deputy has accused the government of building wind farms to line the pockets of developers, rather than create an opportunity for native renewable energy generation. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn says he visited a wind farm near his own home in Co. Donegal, where half the windmills are switched off during the day. He

Maria Steen has received a last-minute boost in her bid to contest the presidential election. This morning, Senator Aubrey McCarthy confirmed that he will sign her nomination papers, leaving her now just two signatures short of the 20 she needs from Oireachtas members to make it onto the ballot. The deadline to submit the paperwork

The Oireachtas Fisheries Committee has been told that fishers have been constantly denied financial supports from Europe on the basis that there is no provision for them in the Common Fisheries Policy, but there are supports available for other sectors such as artists. Michael Desmond. the chair of the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association told the

Children in Donegal are still waiting for funding to be released from the Children’s Disability Services Fund. It’s almost two years since it was announced to much fanfare that €3.6m was being sanctioned for four service providers for children with additional needs in Donegal. It led to a Donegal mother claiming her son, Jack had

The head of the government’s Shared Island Unit has told an Oireachtas committee funding for initiatives will be additional to money already being invested. Emer Deane, an Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach was appearing before the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. She outlined a number of initiatives being

The North’s Economy Minister has defended Invest NI’s record in the North West, saying recent announcements by Seagate, EY, Fintru and others show that there is a considerable level of investment taking place. Caoimhe Archibald, herself an East Derry representative was answering questions from Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin regarding the resignation of Strabane businessman Kieran

Gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding a crash on the Lifford to Letterkenny road at around twenty to nine on Sunday morning. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Garda Grainne Doherty issued this appeal for information…….