Author name: highlandnews

Donegal has the lowest median annual earnings in the country at €33,523. According to figures published by the Central Statistics Office today, the lowest median annual earnings in nine economic sectors were recorded in Donegal, where annual earnings ranged from €18,574 in Arts, Entertainment, Recreation & Other Services to €53,337 in the Education sector. The

An oil burner and oil has been stolen from a house in Raphoe. Between 10pm on Saturday last and 9am on Sunday morning, entry was gained to a boiler house at a property on Meetinghouse Street. Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have observed any suspicious activity in the area to contact Gardaí in

A coroner has found the death of a young girl from Co Derry was due to “a series of human errors” and not “systemic failure”. 9 year old Raychel Ferguson from Coshquin died on June 10th 2001. She was one of five children whose hospital treatment was examined in the long-running Hyponatraemia Inquiry. Raychel Ferguson

78% of school leavers in Donegal have gone on to third level education in 2023. That’s according to the latest Irish Times Feeder Schools report for 2023 which shows around 80% of pupils across the country this year have progressed to college. Fee paying schools still account for the most pupils progressing to college with

A new energy price war could be on the way. SSE Airtricity is set to cut the cost of its electricity supply by almost 13%, and its gas by 11.5%. They kick in from February 1st. When combined with a previous cut which took effect in November, SSE’s tariff’s will have fallen by 20% since

A man has been stabbed to death in Dublin. Emergency services were called to the Castle Park area of Tallaght just before 9pm last night. They treated the victim who was aged in his 40’s at the scene, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. A 19 year old man has been arrested.

The Irish Red Cross has hit out at Government plans to cut social welfare benefits for Ukrainian refugees. Under plans to be finalised by Cabinet this morning, those travelling from the war torn country will see their weekly payments cut by over 80%, and access to State accommodation limited. A late meeting of the Cabinet

Bus Eireann are warning service users that they will be engaging a reduced service over the Christmas and New Year holiday. High demand is anticipated, therefore passengers should plan journeys in advance and check updated timetables on the Bus Éireann website. The schedule will operate as normal until Saturday the 23rd of December. Christmas Eve

Gardaí in Donegal have issued guidelines for homeowners to lessen their chances of falling victim to burglary. The advice spans across home security, vacant housing, social media and outdoor precautions. It’s advised to keep some lights on at all times, windows and doors locked and keys away from windows and letterboxes. Keeping a record of

A business in Laghy have made an appeal on social media after three brand new Suzuki King Quads were stolen between 1am and 7am yesterday morning. In the posts Carron Quads says two of the quads are red in colour with non power steering, one of which had oversized Kenda Bear claw tyres on the

PSNI in Omagh are again appealing for witnesses and information after a car was set on fire. Officers received a report around 1:50am on Saturday, December 2nd that a car was alight outside a property in the Castleview Crescent area of the town. The NIFRS extinguished the blaze which is being treated as arson. There

The Arts Council have made 141 offers to schools and centres across Ireland who applied to be part of the Creative Schools initiative, 5 of which are Donegal based. The programme aims to give opportunities to young people to develop their artistic skills by receiving a grant and working with a professional Creative Associate who

Just four TDs and Senators received individual political donations in excess of 600 euro. The Standards in Public Office Commission’s published its report on donations made to TDs, Senators and MEPs in 2022. Public representatives must declare any donations valued or totalling 600 euro or more from an individual source. None of Donegal’s five representatives

HIQA has published a report on Carndonagh Community Hospital following an unannounced inspection at the end of August. There were 37 residents in the facility at the time of the inspection. The report notes that feedback from residents and families was highly positive, but there were three non-compliances noted in the areas governance and management,

The opening date for applications for funding under the Community Climate Action Programme will be the 29th of December. A series of public information sessions will be held by Donegal County Council next month in order to provide local communities with details for advice. The new programme is set to fund non-profit local groups and

Donegal County Council would like to inform the public that gritters will not be out on the road tonight. However, this information can change without notice. The public are reminded to always assume no road is ice free and to take care when driving in stormy conditions.

Police investigating a number of fraud reports across Northern Ireland have arrested two men in Antrim. Six reports were received from a number of local shops of fraud and attempted fraud, where two men were reported to attempt to purchase gift vouchers with a payment card. The men receive the gift card, however the shop

The family of the five-year-old girl stabbed in Dublin City Centre last month say they’re hopeful she will be out of intensive care by the end of the year. In an update, posted to the GoFundMe page dedicated to the young victim, the family have called the young girl a ‘warrior’, and say she is

A 31 year old man has been charged with the murder of Odhran Kelly in County Armagh. The body of the 23 year old was found beside a burned out car in Lurgan in the early hours of last Sunday morning. The man in police custody will be brought before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Donegal County Council has established a livestream service of the Polestar Roundabout. The 24/7 camera system monitors the flow of traffic at the polestar roundabout so the public can assess traffic conditions before heading out on the road. Motorist response to the new traffic light system can also be monitored with the service. The live

Repairs to a burst water main may cause supply disruptions to Loughanure and surrounding areas in Co. Donegal. There will be a traffic management plan in place for the duration of the works. Works are scheduled to take place until 5pm today. The council recommends that you allow 2-3 hours after the estimated restoration time

Donegal is set to escape the worst of Storm Fergus today. Storm Fergus will make landfall today, with very strong onshore winds forecast. It’s the second storm in as many days to hit the country, after Storm Elin yesterday, and Met Éireann have issued weather warnings. 16 counties are under Yellow warnings from this afternoon,

The Police Service of Northern Ireland can confirm a man has died following a two vehicle road traffic collision in Ballymena on Wednesday, 22nd November. David Blayney, who was 53 and from the Ballymena area, was taken to hospital for treatment to life-threatening injuries. He passed away in hospital on Friday. The collision, involving a

The Christmas tree in Buncrana has been re-lit following an incident of criminal damage yesterday. The people who damaged the tree got in touch with Buncrana Christmas Lights community, owned up and sincerely apologised for their antics. The bill for repairs to the damaged seasonal tree was paid in full by the persons guilty. The

Three people have been arrested for Drink Driving offences in Derry last night. Police from LPT1 Strand Road were out conducting Proactive Patrols in the city yesterday evening. During these patrols, the local policing team located and arrested three persons. The three people will have their chance to appear in court as is usual procedure.