Author name: highlandnews

Donegal County Council is to embark on a publicity campaign to assess the demand for an Affordable Housing Scheme in the county. At present, the county is not one of the 18 included in the scheme, and the purpose of the eight week consultation will be to determine the level of interest in towns and […]

Siún Ní Raghallaigh has quit as Chair of the RTE Board. Her resignation late last night came after Media Minister Catherine Martin said on Prime Tome last night that Ms. Ní Raghallaigh had ‘misinformed’ her twice this week in relation to RTE exit packages. The former Chair said she had not made an ‘intentional misrepresentation’,

  The Chief Executive of Donegal County Council has confirmed the authority has included very stringent conditions on the composition of blocks which can be used in the construction of social housing and other building projects. John McLaughlin told a special council meeting this week that the government and the National Standards Authority of Ireland

The North’s First Minister says Stormont must be seen as a champion of the North West. Answering questions in the Assembly this week from Foyle MLAs Sinead McLaughlin and Padraig Delargey, Michelle O’Neill stressed the importance of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership, which is jointly led by Derry City and Strabane District Council and

Donegal TD Padraig MacLochlainn has again tabled questions to the Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister regarding the fact that the man accused of the rape and murder of Irish citizen Danielle McLaughlin in Goa, India, in March, 2017, has again been granted bail. He’s also asking about the engagements that his government have had with

Tanaiste Michael Martin and Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty have again clashed in the Dail over housing. The Tanaiste accused Sinn Fein of voting against supports for young people seeking to buy their own homes, and having just three pages on housing in its alternative budget, saying the party was all sound and

Seven job losses are imminent at the Randox plant in Dungloe In a statement to Highland Radio News, the company has confirmed seven positions in the manufacturing engineering department have been provisionally identified for redundancy, but affected staff may apply for positions elsewhere within the factory, for which they are still recruiting. Randox says the redundancies

Borders shouldn’t come into play in the provision of healthcare services. That’s according to a Foyle MLA who is calling on both governments to provide adequate addiction services for the north west. MLA Pádraig Delargy raised the issue with Stormont Minister health minister Robin Swann. He says it’s been four years since such commitments were

A Midlands Northwest MEP says he will be voting against the proposed EU Nature Restoration Regulation, as it’s a disservice to farmers and society as a whole. MEP Luke Ming Flanagan says the current proposal is in adequate, and that more funding needs to be provided for farmers to tackle climate change. A vote will

One year on from the attempted murder of a senior PSNI Detective, a group representing officers says they’re still on high alert. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was off duty when he was shot several times at sports complex in Omagh. Liam Kelly is the Chair of the north’s Police Federation:

Donegal County Council has been told that they can have all the plans in the world to tackle homelessness, but until those plans are backed up with proper government support, they will not succeed. After a presentation to members by Linda McCann, the council’s new Homelessness Prevention Coordinator, Cllr Gerry McMonagle said the North West

A senior engineer with Donegal County Council says they want to increase and accelerate the number of turnkey developments available to the council in a bid to reduce the social housing waiting list. Donal Walker was speaking at County House in Lifford as the council signed a €6.2 million contract with Meadowfield Development in Convoy

There is a lack of urgency from Government to address the current GP availability crisis in rural Ireland. That’s according to the Rural Independents Group who have introduced a Dail motion calling for immediate action to address what they have described as “critical” shortages in General Practice across rural Ireland. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle while

Donegal County Council has adopted a Climate Action Plan which will inform development policy from now until 2029. The plan sets out climate action measures, aimed at facilitating the national objective of achieving a carbon neutral economy by 2050. The council has also agreed to send the amended draft County Development Plan back to public

A Donegal Senator has called for urgency to be placed on a cabinet discussion on the Ten-T Road project. Senator Niall Blaney says the case study is now with the Department of Transport. The roll out of road traffic projects in Donegal is hoped to happen in conjunction with construction of the A5. Senator Blaney

A Donegal woman who had breast cancer says she was shocked at the government’s decision to see the cutting of an allowance for specialised bras for women recovering from a mastectomy. The bras cost around €60 and previously women were entitled to two per year. Lynn McDevitt spoke to Greg Hughes on this morning’s Nine

There’s serious concern over the provision of physiotherapy and occupational therapy at St Joseph’s Community Hospital, Stranorlar. It’s emerged that physio and OT services at the hospital are being suspended to facilitate fire regulation and other primary care services upgrade works. Patients instead will have to travel to other facilities in the county. Councillor Patrick

A Donegal Deputy says a multi-department approach is needed to deal with the defective concrete block crisis. Deputy Joe McHugh told the story of a family who began the process of joining the scheme in 2020 before the young mother sadly passed away. She left behind her husband and three children. The father has since

Over €44,000 was invested in Donegal by Ørsted last year. The global renewable energy company provided funding to community groups and initiatives including North West Community Development, Scoil Naomh Padraig and Buncrana GAA. Ørsted has three active wind farms in Donegal. Spraoi agus Sport in Carndonagh were awarded €60,000 across three years. CEO Helen Nolan

It’s emerged a meeting of the Defective Concrete Block Sub-Committee which was to have taken place today has been postponed, with Deputy Thomas Pringle telling the Dail that the mortageability of remediated homes remains a major issue, and many people are having difficulty making up the outstanding balance in what described as a 100% redress

Work on what’s been described as one of Derry and Strabane’s most innovative developments moved another step forwards this week the appointment of a contractor to construct the Acorn Farm Project at St Columb’s Park. The contractor will deliver the urban farm element of the wider £6.2 million Acorn Farm capital build project which Derry

  The North’s Economy Minister says Invest NI wants to change the way it does business, and that will involve a lot more consultation at local level. Questioned in the Assembly this week about the development agencies plans for the North West, Minister Conor murphy said what he envisages is a series of plans which

The Irish Government has committed €600 million to the construction of the A5. The road runs through counties Derry and Tyrone and links Donegal to Dublin. Announcing the funding at a special press event this morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says the government will also improve feeder roads onto the A5 in Donegal and Monaghan. He said the

  Third level members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland held protests outside technological university campuses across the country today, including the campuses across the region covered by the ATU. The protest was held to highlight what the TUI believes is the non-adherence by the Department of Education to a collective agreement on the establishment