Author name: highlandnews

Funding of almost €60 million has been announced to support victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. The Justice Minister today launched a new agency which aims at doubling the refuge for victims and raising awareness in the area. Cuan has been established to assist charities and services in providing safe and accessible accommodation,

Over 1,000 asylum seekers are now without any accommodation here, with the majority sleeping in tents on the streets. The latest figures from the Department of Integration show 1,010 international protection applicants are now without State accommodation. Since the start of December last year the Government have been unable to accommodate any newly arrived male

The most popular baby names in Donegal last year were Grace, Annie and Jack. They proved to be high in demand names across the country with Jack and Grace the most popular in Ireland in 2023. Jack was the top boys’ name for the seventh year in a row. Statistician with the CSO, Sean O’Connor,

A Donegal GP says the suspension of physiotherapy and occupational therapy at St Joseph’s Community Hospital, Stranorlar will have a serious knock on effect across the whole of Donegal, and in particular on Letterkenny University Hospital. It’s emerged earlier this week that physio and OT services at the hospital are being suspended to facilitate fire

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