Author name: highlandnews

Gardaí in Donegal say people should only travel if it’s necessary as roads around the county remain in treacherous condition. They urge the public to stay safe and check in on vulnerable neighbours, family members & friends. A national low temperature alert is in place until midday as the latest cold-snap continues. A yellow alert […]

Planned ESB Network outages in Donegal are not going ahead today. Outages were to take place in Letterkenny and St Johnston to allow works to go ahead. ESB say these will be arranged for a future date and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

‘Landmark’ reforms of the child maintenance system are being brought before the Dáil today. Over 16,000 lone parents are expected to benefit from the changes including the exclusion of maintenance payments from the social welfare means tests for the first time. It means parents on reduced pay rates will see their payment increase and others

Tusla says it is committed to working with the Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services to maintain counselling services in Letterkenny. Senior officials from the Child and Family Agency met with the service this week. Following what has been described as a productive meeting, Tusla has committed to continue to work with the counselling service to help

A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the discovery of 14 people in a container at Rosslare Europort in Wexford last week. He was taken into custody in Rosslare this afternoon for an alleged offence under the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act 2021 – and is being questioned at a

The green light has been given to resume Irish beef exports to China. They had been suspended after an isolated case of atypical BSE was detected in November. The resumption of exports was announced following high level discussions between the Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today. The Chinese leader is leaving Ireland

The gritters will be back out again this afternoon and tomorrow morning. All Donegal Winter Maintenance designated gritting routes will be treated from 4 o’clock today and 5am tomorrow morning. Donegal County are urging drivers to assume no road is ice free. The following routes are to be treated: 01: National Primary North 02: National

Donegal County Council has been shortlisted for a number of LAMA All Ireland Community and Council Awards. The Inishowen Rivers Trust has been nominated under the Best Green Sustainable category and the Disrupt by the Sea project has been nominated as Best Enterprise & Start-Up Hub. Meanwhile, #BuyDonegal23 is listed as a nominee in the

Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Refuse collection services continues to be affected as result of the snow and icy conditions today however householders are advised to leave out their bins as normal and Council will endeavour to service them when it is safe to do so. A number of our Cemeteries including the City

The number of new cars licensed in Ireland 2023 rose by 16% compared to the previous year. 2,539 of those were in Donegal, a marginal increase of 1.6% for the county. This year also seen an increase of 4% for the country in terms of the number of those new cars which were electric.

Donegal County Council’s Environment team has confirmed drones are now being used in the fight against illegal dumping in the county. In reports to members at municipal district meetings this week, the team says waste and litter staff have been trained, licences are in place, and drone work is now in progress. The team says

  PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE CLOSURES  WHICH WE HAVE CONFIRMED, AND THE LIST IS BY NO MEANS EXHAUSTIVE. McGettigans Buses are not operating today. Travelmaster bus and coach in Buncrana is not operating today. Gaelscoil Adhamhnáin in Letterkenny is closed today. Educate together in Letterkenny is closed today. Scoil Colmcille in Letterkenny is closed today.

A Donegal TD says the Government must ensure there’s adequate GP and hospital services in areas with large numbers of asylum seekers. Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle says a lack of medical services is the main concern of communities dealing with new international protection applicants. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced yesterday extra resources in health, education and

  Difficult driving conditions are being reported across the region this morning, with snow falling on top of ice on many of Donegal’s roads. Gardai say main rotes are passable with care, and are advising motorists to allow extra time for their journeys and slow down. Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will remain under a

The Stormont Assembly is to be recalled later, for a final bid to elect a new Speaker before the deadline expires. It collapsed in early 2022 as a result of the DUP’s protest over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. The institution have been stagnant for 23 months now, and if the assembly doesn’t return,

The Atlantic Technological University has joined the International Alliance in a bid to combat the escalating crisis of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean. The Blue Point project also aims to establish a Blue Circular Economy. The Blue Point project is an ambitious initiative aimed at establishing a Blue Circular Economy, uniting 13 partners from

The Inishowen Municipal District received the highest number of planning applications in Donegal last year. Figures up to the end of December 2023 reveal the MD also had the highest number of invalid applications. Of the 539 planning applications received, 75 were deemed invalid. Meanwhile, Letterkenny had the largest amount of planning applications granted at

Two men have been arrested in Dublin in connection with a number of criminal damage incidents and a car hijacking in Bridgend on Sunday. The two men, aged in their 20s are currently being detained at a Garda station in Dublin. The stolen vehicle has since been recovered. Investigations are continuing.

  The Student Council at St Eunan’s College Letterkenny penned a two page Letter to the Minister for Education, local TDs and councillors to highlight their concerns regarding delays to the construction of their new school building. In the letter they outline the difference of the needs of the school now, compared to 50 years

Another status yellow low temperature/ice warning has been issued for the entire country tonight. Met Éireann made the call this morning, with warnings of difficult travelling conditions due to severe frost and icy stretches. The alert comes into effect at 6 o’clock this evening and runs until 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. Seperately, the Met Office

A number of water outage notices have been issued for the Donegal today. A bust water main in Ballyshannon means works will be ongoing until 4:30pm this afternoon. Meanwhile mains repairs may cause supply disruptions to Cahir O’ Doherty Avenue, Crana Road, Buncrana and surrounding areas. Works are scheduled to take place until 3pm this

Gardaí in Buncrana have re-issued an appeal for information surrounding a collision between a vehicle and a young person on Monday, December 18th. It happened around Ardaravan Square between 4.30pm and 5pm. The pedestrian sustained non-life threatening injuries. The vehicle in question has been described as a dark coloured saloon, possibly an Audi. Gardaí are

Gardaí are appealing for information after a car left the scene of a collision on the Derry Road last Saturday evening. It happened at around 8.45pm when a blue BMW, partial registration of ‘RNZ’, travelling from the Lifford area towards St. Johnston struck a car travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of the BMW

There’s been another instance of number plates being stolen from a car, this time in Muff. Gardaí say it happened in the area of the Springfield Estate between 4pm on Friday last, January 12th and midday on the following day, Saturday January 13th. A car was parked at a house in the estate, and both the

  Gardaí are investigating a burglary that occurred at a yard in Priestfield, Malin, between 3pm on Monday the 8th of January and 2.30pm on Tuesday the 9th of January. Entry was gained to the yard after the gate lock had been forced open. A lock on a shed was then forced open, and a Honda power washer was stolen,

Gardaí in Inishowen are appealing for information in relation to a burglary that occurred at a business premises at Main Street, Culdaff  in the early hours of last Tuesday, the 9th of January, sometime between Midnight and 6.20am. The rear door of the premises had been forced open and entry was gained. A substantial amount of cigarettes and cash were

Mains repairs may cause supply disruptions to Cahir O’Doherty Avenue, Crana Road, Buncrana and surrounding areas today. Works are scheduled to take place until 3pm on this afternoon. Uisce Eireann recommend that an allowance of 2-3 hours after the estimated restoration time is made for supplies to fully return.

  Some people with disabilities are experiencing financial abuse. A National Advocacy Service report says this is despite new laws which presume every adult has capacity to make their own decisions until proven otherwise. In certain cases, people face banking and digital exclusion, while others had their money restricted or limited by family members. The