Author name: highlandnews

The Health Minister is to bring a memo to Cabinet this morning outlining a further reduction in the number of people on waiting lists around the country. Stephen Donnelly will tell his ministerial colleagues that 2023 was the second year in a row to see the numbers fall. In Budget 2023, 443 million euro was

A woman has died following a road crash in Co. Sligo. The two car collision happened on the R290 in Dunamurry at around 7:30pm yesterday evening, the woman in her 50s was pronounced dead at the scene. A second driver was taken to Sligo University Hospital but their injuries are not believed to be life

Works on the Four-Lane Project in Letterkenny are coming to a close. Among the final tasks to be complete is the turning on of signalised crossings along the road. This is to commence today and aims to increase pedestrian safety on the busy route

Overnight leak detection works may cause water supply disruptions to Murvagh, Laghey and surrounding areas. They are to commence at 10pm tonight and last until 6am tomorrow morning. It is recommended that an allowance of 2-3 hours after the estimated restoration time is made for your supplies to fully return.

A security alert in Derry this morning has seen the seizure of an explosive device. It was in the Barrs Lane area and has now ended. Police removed what has been declared as an improvised explosive device, which is undergoing further forensic examination. Residents were back in their homes by 7pm yesterday evening.

The leader of the DUP says his party’s discussions with the British Government will recommence this week. Jeffrey Donaldson says its “goal throughout this process has been to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the UK Internal Market.” Stormont institutions have been suspended for almost two years because of a DUP boycott in protest at post-Brexit

All of the Donegal gritting routes are being treated this afternoon. The gritter will be out from 3 o’clock. Donegal County Council are urging drivers to assume no road is ice free. The following routes are to be gritted: 01: National Primary North 02: National Primary Central 03: National Primary South 04: Inishowen South 05:

A security alert is currently underway in Derry. A number of homes have been evacuated in the Barrs Lane area of Ballymagroarty. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says it’s seeing “overcrowding challenges” in each part of the country. 626 people are waiting for beds in hospitals nationwide today, with RSV, COVID and influenza infections expected to peak this week and next. 39 people are waiting on a trolley at Letterkenny University Hospital. The INMO says the

Delays in the implementation of governance mechanisms have been identified in Tusla services in Donegal/ Sligo/Leitrim and West Cavan. A HIQA inspection was carried out in August last year, focusing on the implementation of the Child and Family Agency’s Child Abuse Substantiation Procedure which came into operation on June 27th 2022. HIQA found that overall,

The Education Minister has been accused of throwing in the towel on the teacher recruitment and retention crisis. The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland says Norma Foley doesn’t have the “political will or wherewithal to properly tackle the problem.” It says there are hundreds of unfilled post-primary teaching posts advertised on education recruitment websites

A low temperature warning has been issued for Donegal. Cold, icy conditions are expected from 9pm tonight until 10am tomorrow morning. Travelling has been hazardous for many today with temperatures falling to -4 in parts overnight.

A Donegal Funeral Director is appealing to those responsible for the theft of lights from wake signs to return them. Sweeney Funeral Directors and Embalmers say during a recent wake in the Falcarragh area, the flares were removed from the signs. They say this is unfortunately not the first time signs have been tampered with.

A missing Donegal teenager has been found. The 16 year was missing from Burnfoot since Friday. Gardai say he has been found safe and well.

Letterkenny man Michael Harte has won a Creative Arts Emmy. He received the award for Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program for his role in ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’. The documentary won a total of four Emmys. Accepting the awards, the team says Michael J Fox, “took Parkinson’s out of the shadows.

The Killybegs Coast Guard yesterday evening responded to the activation of a Personal Location Beacon in the Murvagh area. The Rescue 118 helicopter was also tasked at around 5pm. A thorough search was conducted and requests made by the Malin Head Coast Guard to other vessels in the Donegal Bay area to make contact regarding

Junior doctors in Northern Ireland are being balloted for strike action for the first time. They’re being asked to vote on whether to stage a 24-hour walkout in March over pay. Nurses and other public sector workers are also taking action.

There won’t be any spring cost-of-living package this year. The Finance Minister has ruled it out, and is warning measures introduced by government to help with high prices in recent years, will need to be tapered off. Michael McGrath has told the Irish Times that ‘exceptional interventions’ can’t be the norm and can’t be funded

A nationwide yellow fog warning remains in place this morning. Met Eireann has warned of dense and widespread fog which will linger until 10am, leading to hazardous travelling conditions. Gritters were deployed at 6am this morning in Donegal however, motorists are warned to assume no road is ice free.

Efforts are ongoing in Donegal to identify vacant properties and their owners in a bid to bring them back into use. Donegal County Council is continuing to work to tackle vacancy and dereliction throughout the county. Supports available include the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme which provide grants of up to €84,000 to refurbish vacant

As schools return today, Gardai in Donegal are urging motorists to be mindful on the roads. Drivers are asked to slow down in the area of bus collection/drop off points and in the vicinity of schools. Gardai are advising to always expect the unexpected and be prepared to stop suddenly and to leave extra time

Investigations are continuing into a weekend incident in Derry involving a woman and a young child. Police responded to a concern for safety in the area of the Craigavon Bridge Embankment on Foyle Road at approximately 9.15pm on Saturday night involving the pair. Detective Chief Inspector Heather Campbell, from the Public Protection Branch says they

Police are appealing for information after a row in Co Derry. The argument was between a man in his 50s and a woman in her teens or early 20s in the Dungiven area at around 8:45pm last night. The man was wearing a hat and body warmer, and the woman was wearing glasses and dressed

A number of crime prevention checkpoints have been carried out this week in the border area. Gardaí from the Buncrana Roads Policing Unit assisted local detectives during the checkpoints on Wednesday night. The aim of the checkpoints is to prevent and detect criminal activity.  

A man has been hospitalised following an early morning assault in Strabane. Shortly before 1:30am this morning, the man sustained injuries to his nose and face after being set upon by another man during an altercation in the Railway Street area of the town. He was subsequently transferred by ambulance to hospital for treatment to

Gritters are to be deployed across Donegal tonight as temperatures are set to drop to -2 degrees. Donegal Winter Maintenance designated gritting routes will be gritted from 5PM this evening. Donegal gritting route index as follows: 01: National Primary North 02: National Primary Central 03: National Primary South 04: Inishowen South 05: Inishowen East 06:

Three scrambler bikes have been seized in Derry. Police say concerns have been raised by members of the community in Galliagh that their green areas are being turned into race tracks, their homes sprayed with muck from scramblers, and their quality of life destroyed by the constant noise. Yesterday, a policing operation was put in