Author name: highlandnews

Another price cut by SSE Airtricity is expected to trigger an energy price war. It’s cutting its electricity and gas rates from February 1st by between 13% and 11.5%. It follows cuts to its rates from the start of last month. But Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie says these cuts are coming from a high price

Stricter rules for new arrivals from Ukraine have been agreed by Cabinet. State accommodation will be offered for the first 90 days only. In that time, a reduced welfare payment will be made of €38.80 cents per week, that’s down from €220. It will revert to the higher rate when people leave state accommodation. Taoiseach

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help repatriate the body of a Letterkenny University Hospital nurse’s mum to Zimbabwe. Valerie’s mum, Mavis travelled to Letterkenny to spend Christmas with her. Sadly, she passed away suddenly within 24 hours. The cost of repatriating Valerie’s mum’s body could exceed €10,500. Valerie’s friend, Faith, on today’s

The Health Minister says some hospitals are failing to clear their weekend patients, leading to an increase in trolley numbers. Stephen Donnelly says he has met with the HSE to ensure the right rostering is in place for the next few weekends. 747 patients were waiting for a hospital bed yesterday, 57 at Letterkenny University

It’s emerged a cattle trailer used in the theft of almost €40,000 worth of quads from a South Donegal business was stolen from a nearby business. Three brand new Suzuki quads were taken from Carron Quads, Ballintra between 1am and 7am yesterday morning. CCTV footage shows a white transit van, believed to be involved close

A Church was ransacked and cash stolen from a number of properties during a spate of burglaries in Inishowen in the early hours of yesterday morning. A sum of cash was stolen from a house in Lecamy while at St Columba’s Church, Ballinacrae, the sacristy was ransacked and damage caused to a tabernacle. It was

The Government is expected to sign off on a number of changes for new arrivals from Ukraine. Under the plans state accommodation would only be provided for 90 days. It’s also proposed while in State accommodation their welfare rate would be slashed from €220 euro to €38.80. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle says it’s a decision

Councillor Donal Coyle has been elected as the new Chair of the Donegal Education and Training Board. Councillor Coyle says the delivery of the new Errigal College building in Letterkenny will be high on his agenda. Having previously been a teacher and school principal for many years, he knows all to well how important education

A draft deal that falls short of calling for fossil fuels to be phased out, has sparked fury at UN Climate talks in Dubai. Environment Minister Eamon Ryan – who’s the EU lead negotiator on climate finance, says the text will have to be ‘re-worked’ if its to make it across the line. Minister Ryan

A number of people in Donegal Town were confused yesterday when the bottle banks were no longer there. A sign was in put in place by Donegal County Council to redirect the public to Laghy recycling centre, the nearest recycling facility available. Cllr Tom Conaghan says it is to facilitate resurfacing works on the site,

An independent report’s issued 37 recommendations following a major data breach at the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The force admits failing to “proactively secure and protect” the details of almost 9,500 officers and staff which were mistakenly published. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says the report highlights key areas where improvement is needed:

There were 57 admitted patients awaiting beds at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, 21 of them on Emergency Department trolleys. That’s the second highest figure in the country after Limerick, which had 109. Sligo University Hospital returned the country’s third highest figure of 54, 34 of whom were on trolleys in the ED. That gives

The Special Needs Parents Donegal Network say they had a very positive meeting with the HSE on Friday to discuss issues with Childrens’ Disability Network Teams and the availability of equipment and services. Spokesperson Jo Corkery says they made progress on redeployment, school service provision and equipment needs, although more needs to be done, and

The preliminary results of a study into the cause of defective concrete blocks in Donegal suggests the primary cause of the problem is sulphate attack caused by pyrrotite, with direct evidence that foundations are also being attacked and are at risk of failure. Professor Paul Dunlop of the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences at

Donegal County Council is to explore the possibility of developing a marine safety initiative, similar to the road safety roadshow which has been attended by thousands of Transition Year students in the county. The suggestion was made by Cllr Martin McDermott, who says he was struck by the fact that a recent rescue on Lough

  A small change to legislation on coercive control would have an immediate and significant impact for at-risk adults. A report by Sage Advocacy the National Advocacy Service for Older People found shortcomings in access to justice, that justice is uneven, and that many barriers need to be addressed for at-risk adults. CEO of Sage

More money is being pumped into apprenticeships. 17 million euro in funding is being allocated to the higher education sector in order to meet demand. It’ll be distributed across four Technological Universities and one Institute of Technology. A number of places are being opened up at the ATU Donegal Letterkenny campus in Metal Fabrication, Refrigeration,

Stormont parties will  meet the Northern Secretary Chris Heaton Harris today for talks on Northern Ireland’s finances and public services. The potential for the creation of a new Executive will also be discussed, although the UK Government and the DUP both say their talks, aimed at restoring power-sharing, haven’t concluded yet. Alliance MP Stephen Farry

The cleanup begins in Leitrim village this morning after it was hit by a freak tornado. The village will remain closed off until structural damage caused during Storm Fergus yesterday is surveyed. Collette Scollan is a resident in the village, and was having breakfast with family when the tornado hit……….   A number of buildings

Today marks the turning of the first sod for 42 new social housing units at Gort na Gréine, Drumacrin in Bundoran. The turning of the sod takes place at 2.30pm today to mark the beginning of construction. Cllr Michael McMahon has welcomed development and says it has been a long time coming:

Labour’s Aodhan Ó Ríordáin is to seek his party’s nomination for next year’s European elections. The Dublin Bay North TD says the riots in Dublin “broke his heart”, and that the violence in the city is a key reason in running. He will be facing Senator Annie Hoey and Fingal councillor Rob O’Donoghue next month

This year’s Returning Light Event will be held in Donegal Town on December 22nd. Returning Light is an annual charity concert held in Donegal town for local mental health services. Tickets are available online and at the door on the night. Event Organiser for Returning Light Ciara Martin has more…..

A local councillor has urged community members to attend this week’s mental health information event. Donegal Public Participation Network has invited members of the public to attend the Winter Wellness Event held in Letterkenny this week. The event takes place this Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel in Letterkenny from 12 noon to 2pm. Refreshments will