Author name: highlandnews

Donegal TD Thomas Pringle has told the Dail that home care workers should be given guaranteed hours and paid at least the Living Wage, as well as travel time and mileage. He also called for the immediate reversal of recruitment bans in the home care sector. Speaking on a Labour Party motion in the Dáil […]

Manager of the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre agrees with calls for consent classes to be expanded to secondary schools. The topic was raised at an Oireachtas committee yesterday. Marina Porter says the key to prevention is education, and waiting until University is much too late. Marina added that she thinks the idea of consent should

Donegal County Council’s Defective Blocks Committee has been told that a number of older applicants are living in a state of anxiety because of the slow pace of progress. Cllr Terry Crossan told the meeting that some of the older applicants fear the pace of progress is so slow that they may not live long

A Castlefinn councilor has condemned the theft of a memorial stone from the family plot of an off-duty RUC officer. The stone was unveiled last week to mark the 50th anniversary of the killing of Detective Constable John Doherty. Cllr. Gary Doherty says these actions do not represent the community of the village:

The Agriculture Minister says he’s liaising with Chinese authorities to ensure our beef exports restart as soon possible. Shipments were suspended yesterday after a case of atypical BSE – which occurs sporadically – was discovered in a cow. It doesn’t relate to feed contamination, which was the cause of the major ‘mad cow disease’ outbreak

A senior garda says she does not believe that increased road deaths are down to a lack of Gardaí. Deputy Commissioner Annemarie McMahon says road crashes haven’t increased in the areas where the numbers of gardai working on roads policing has reduced. 165 people have been killed on the roads so far this year, 10

A Donegal deputy says it’s important to understand the process required to see works in the A5 come into fruition. Deputy Joe McHugh says the publication of a report from the Planning Appeals Commission is of utmost importance. West Tyrone MP Orflaith Begley, previously said the project could start within a matter of months, provided

A group of Donegal GPs will meet senior SAOLTA management today to discuss patient safety concerns and ongoing access issues at Letterkenny University Hospital. The meeting, which will be attended by Tony Canavan and other senior SAOLTA figures, will focus on timely care of patients at the emergency department, as well as timely access to

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has called the current housing climate a ‘social disaster’ in the Dáil yesterday. He was speaking during the motions on housing. The Sinn Fein Finance spokesperson said that in the last 12 years the cost to buy a house was increased by €70,000 while the cost to rent has gone up

A digital policy expert is encouraging parents to teach children about the dangers of social media. Dr Elizabeth Farries says targeted advertising and hyper personalisation of “For You” pages are trapping young people in a “rabbit hole” of harmful content. Human rights group, Amnesty International have accused social media platform TikTok of romanticizing mental health

West Tyrone MLA Maolíosa McHugh says that increasing difficulties being experienced by patients attempting to access NHS dental provision are highlighted by a Strabane mother being told that July of next year is the earliest date that an appointment could be offered for her children. Mr McHugh says a BBC investigation earlier this year found that

There are calls for the publication of a key report on the A5 to allow work on the long awaited project begin as soon as possible. The Planning Appeals Commission has delivered its report to the Department for Infrastructure following the most recent public inquiry. West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan says it’s clear the redevelopment

Gardaí are appealing for information in relation to two incidents on Halloween night, one in Donegal Town, the other in Carndonagh. On the Community Garda Information Slot on today’s Nine til Noon Show, Sergeant Eunan Walshe told Greg Hughes that in the Donegal Town incident, a derelict factory was targeted…….

The Agriculture Minister says nitrates derogation will be to the fore of discussions with the EU Environment Commissioner when he arrives here later this month. Charlie McConalogue says the commissioner will visit Ireland on November 23rd. It follows major rows between farming groups and the government over changes to the current limits, which will take

Gardaí in Ballyshannon are investigating an incident on the N3 Belleek Road outside Ballyshannon in the early hours of Saturday morning last. Two pedestrians were hit by a vehicle, with both brought to hospital. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Sergeant Eunan Walshe made this appeal…………..

A retired Parish Priest in North Inishowen says the tragic collision that took the lives of two 18 year olds in the early hours of yesterday morning has had reverberations right across the peninsula. Alana Harkin and Thomas Gallagher, both from Gleneely died in single car collision at Terrawee on the R238. Fr Jim McGonagle

The Taoiseach says the fact more people have died on Irish roads already this year than in all of last year is of “enormous concern.” 163 people have died so far in 2023, including two 18-year-olds in Donegal who were killed in a crash overnight. There have been 37 more fatalities this year when compared

A father from Coolboy says it’s unfair that the last day of his daughter’s mid-term break was spent cleaning up other people’s mess. Kevin Doherty and his 11-year-old Kayla regularly keep their area clean from litter. However yesterday they were shocked to find illegally dumped bin bags full of used nappies and food waste. Kevin

A Midlnds-Nothwest MEP is backing calls to introduce standard pricing for men’s and women’s products. ‘The Pink Tax’ is the additional cost of buying products marketed to women, that men pay less for. Some brands have introduced equal pricing for personal hygiene products like deodorant, however, gaps remain. MEP Maria Walsh believes there should be

A Donegal councillor is urging people to consider upgrading their septic tanks after changes were introduced today to make it easier to get a grant to do so. A requirement that tanks be registered in order to qualify has been scrapped, and the grant available has been more than doubled. Cllr Michael Naughton moved a

A Finn Valley councillor says he wants answers from the HSE as to why people who traditionally received respite care at St Joseph’s Hospital in Stranorlar are now being referred to private nursing homes, while patients discharged from Letterkenny University Hospital are being sent to St Josephs for step down care. Cllr Patrick McGowan says

The Cathaoirleach of the Inishowen Municipal District has offered his condolences to the families of two 18 year olds who were killed in a collision in North Inishowen last night. Gardaí say they are attending the scene of the collision on the R238 at Terrawee, Gleneely. The single vehicle collision involved a car and occurred

There are fresh calls for a living wage to help combat poverty. Social Justice Ireland says higher welfare rates and affordable State housing will help to eradicate childhood poverty. Spokesperson Susanne Rogers says we are building up problems for the future by not addressing poverty issues now……..  

More than four in 10 people want a home care scheme paid for by the person receiving the care and the State. That’s according to a new poll by Sage Advocacy as the Commission on Care begins reviewing care here. There are plans to introduce a statutory home care scheme, which could involve a payment.