Author name: highlandnews

Three Donegal CAMHS teams had the lowest staffing levels, with one team without a psychologist, social worker and occupational therapist. The Mental Health Commission has published its latest review into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. It examined 9 community healthcare settings across the HSE and found 4,451 children and teens are waiting to access

The HSE has confirmed that there will be no nurse or GP available on Tory Island today as was previously scheduled. It’s due to the helicopter being grounded for essential maintenance work with no second helicopter available to make the journey instead. The HSE says it is putting interim measures in place and has apologised

The death toll on Irish roads this year has risen to 125 – up 45% on the same time in 2019. A three year old girl died after she was hit by a car in Portlaoise yesterday afternoon – in what was already a tragic week on our roads. A three year old boy and

We’ll be paying more for petrol and diesel from tonight. The latest increase in excise duty on fuel comes into effect from midnight and is expected to add around 7 cent to a litre of petrol, 5 cent to diesel while agri-diesel will increase by one cent per litre. It’s also the final day of

There’s calls for the Public Expenditure Minister to correct the Dail record regarding the scope of the Defective Concrete Products Levy. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says Minister Paschal Donohoe’s claims that the levy would exclude pre-cast products were false, causing confusion and uncertainty in the construction sector and wider industry. The levy is due to

A murder investigation’s continuing in a rural part of Derry. The body of a man in his 50s was found at a home at Fallahogy Terrace in Kilrea, near Coleraine. A 33-year-old man is being questioned by police who say they aren’t looking for any other suspects. Local Councillor Sean McPeake says he knew the

An emergency meeting highlighting the crisis in early childhood provision is taking place in the Mount Errigal Hotel on Tuesday at 7pm. Elaine Dunne Murphy, Chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers is speaking at the event. She told Greg Hughes on this morning’s Nine ’til Noon show a mass exodus is on the

The Donegal County Coroner has acknowledged that inquests can be delayed, and that can add to the burden of grieving families. However, speaking on today’s Nine til Noon Show, Dr Denis McCauley said inquests are very important in establishing why someone died, and the procedure has to be meticulously followed. He said one of the

A South Inishowen Councillor says he believes plans may be in motion to develop an oyster farm on Lough Swilly, and now is the time for the community to respond. Councillor Paul Canning says he is aware that consultants have been carrying out surveys and investigation work in and around the Quay Shore. He has

As  voters, politicians, and analysts digest the decision of the Electoral Commission not to change the Donegal constituency boundary in any way, there’s now speculation as to what strategies political parties and independents will adopt in terms of candidate selection ahead of the the next general election. The election must happen by February 2025, with

The first of this years CAO offers will be made later this afternoon. They’ll be available from 2 o’clock, with the deadline for students to accept their college offer set at 3 o’clock next Wednesday afternoon. Grade inflation in the Leaving Cert is expected to impact the process again this year. Education Editor with the

A former Donegal Garda Sergeant says there is a desperation among authorities as it comes that people aged 45 or 50 could soon become Garda recruits. The current upper age limit of 35 for anyone applying to join the force looks set to be significantly increased. The Irish Independent reports its part of ‘radical fresh

An Inishowen Councillor says it is clear there are gaps in the recruitment of a senior radiographer for Carndonagh Community Hospital. In March, the HSE confirmed that a recruitment drive was underway but there’s been further confirmation that the role is to be readvertised. Councillor Albert Doherty says the HSE needs to incentivise the role

Drivers in Donegal are being urged to be mindful that schools have reopened. Gardai are warning motorists to be aware of children close to drop off areas at schools. Garda Sean Sweeney is urging parents to also make children aware of the dangers:

The Finance Minister says planned excise duty increases due on Friday are “locked in”. Michael McGrath says the cuts had come at a cost of nearly one billion euro in reduced excise receipts. Friday’s hikes mean there’ll be an extra 7 cent on every litre of petrol, and 5 cent on diesel. Minister McGrath says

The Irish Hotel Federation President in Donegal is urging the government to differentiate between urban and rural hotels. Paul Diver is urging the government not to completely scrap the lower VAT rate for hospitality. It’s due to rise from 9 per cent to 13.5 per cent from next week, after three extensions, with hoteliers, publicans

Concern has been expressed by a local mother after she saw a man appear to watch her 3 year old daughter at the new skating facility at the Town Park in Letterkenny. On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Marti outlined how she saw a man acting suspiciously, and when she went to investigate, she found

  Gardai in Donegal have repeated their warning of scams which are doing the rounds, with particular concern being expressed about two in particular, both of which have been reported before. One involves a text wrongly telling the recipient they are facing potential child exploitation charges, the other involves claims that an eFlow payment is

There are calls for extra overtime funding for Gardai across all regions. Government recently announced a plan to boost the overtime budget by 10 million euro in Dublin after a series of high-profile attacks and assaults. However it’s being pointed out that crime is an issue for the entire country. Independent TD for Galway East

Air passengers leaving and arriving into Ireland can expect more cancellations and delays today. A fault at Air Traffic Control in the UK has now been fixed, however the knock-on effect to flights right across Europe and beyond is likely to continue for a number of days. It’s not clear what caused the system to

Midlands North West MEP Colm Markey has criticised the decision of the Electoral Commission not to factor the proposed extra European Parliament seat for Ireland into its review of constituency boundaries. The Department of Local Government has confirmed that the report, due out tomorrow, will be based on the existing 13-seat allocation, rather than the

Aontu are inviting parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers and all those concerned to a meeting in Letterkenny tonight to discuss the new sex education content to be taught in school Curriculums. Local Aontu representative Mary T Sweeney says they believe in a teaching model based on fact, but the changes being planned at the moment are

The NCT is no longer going cashless. The operator had announced the move last week. However, Junior Transport Minister Jack Chambers says discussions must take place before any such change is made. Age Action Ireland is welcoming the news, saying the measure would have negatively impacted on older people who choose to only use cash.

A West Donegal councillor says at a time when regular pipe bursts at Meenacladdy threaten to flood a local house, it’s not acceptable for Uisce Eireann to say it cannot address the situation because other areas need to be prioritised. Repeating his call for an emergency meeting between Uisce Eireann and local representatives this week,