Author name: highlandnews

A British Government minister’s confirmed there will be a pre-Christmas election in Northern Ireland after a deadline to restore powersharing passed without agreement. The DUP’s still blocking the formation of an executive at Stormont, in protest over the post-Brexit Protocol. Now the UK environment secretary Therese Coffey says voters will “definitely” go to the polls,

Transport Infrastructure Ireland doesn’t always get it right. That’s according to Councillor Michael McBride who has called on the TII to re-examine the possibility of including a climbing lane on the N56 in the Blue Banks area. He says while the works carried out on the route have greatly enhanced the road, an issue with

The Cathaoirleach of the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District says there’s been positive feedback regarding a pilot retrofitting scheme being carried out in the district. Cllr Patrick McGowan says that three housing schemes in the Lifford and Castefin areas have been provided with retrofitted air-to-water heating, as well as updated insulation and home wiring to try and

The Tanaiste says the Government’s desire is to see hundreds of Mica affected homes repaired through the revised redress scheme next year. Leo Varadkar says the Government is very keen to get the scheme up and running. He was responding to Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty in the Dail who pressed the Tanaiste for an update

Voters in the North are set for another election in mid-December. It’s after Stormont met this afternoon and failed to elect a speaker, which is necessary to officially elect a new First and Deputy First Minister. US senator George Mitchell, who helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement, says there needs to be patience in the

There’s calls for safety measures to be installed at a busy junction in Letterkenny. Concerns have been raised over dangers being posed to pedestrians crossing between Letterkenny Shopping Centre and Gleneany House due to the speed of traffic on approach to the junction. There are fears someone could be seriously injured unless measures are put

Quasi Doherty. That is what the Tanaiste has labelled Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty. In what has become the norm, during a heated exchange between the pair, Leo Varadkar claimed it would take just one budget for Sinn Fein to wreck Ireland’s economy. He was responding to Deputy Doherty who was calling for more relief for

Donegal Fire Service is urging people in the vicinity of Druminor, Buncrana to keep windows and doors closed following an overnight fire at a recycling plant On today’s Nine til Noon Show, Acting Chief Fire Officer Michael Scott said there’s no indication that anything dangerous was burned, but they say as a precaution, people should

The Helping Hands project at the Family Resource Centre in Raphoe faces an uncertain future after a break in at its base at the weekend. Around €2,500 worth of equipment used in the maintenance of gardens was taken, including two lawnmowers, two hedge cutters, two blowers, two trimmers and a power washer. The items were

€10.4m million has been allocated to Donegal under the Leader programme for the next five years, the second highest allocation in the country after Cork. The money is used to support rural communities and enterprises, with Agriculture and Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue urging interested groups to apply for funding. He says the LEADER model has

Senator George Mitchell will virtually address the Oireachtas committee today on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement today. The special envoy to the north who was appointed by former US president Bill Clinton, is expected to comment on the current political impasse at Stormont. Jon Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool,

Around 400 thousand homeowners are poised to face higher monthly repayments. Yet another interest rate hike is expected when the governing council of the European Central Bank meets today. An increase of 0.75% is on the cards as the bank attempts to control inflation in the eurozone. It’ll be the third interest rate hike this

Hospital overcrowding this winter could be the worst ever seen. That’s according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation after 669 patients were left without beds on Tuesday. That figure was the highest number of patients waiting on trolleys in a single day in 2022. Of those, 51 were at Letterkenny University Hospital, the joint

There’s calls for a Remedial Works Programme to be set up to bring Mica affected social houses and others laying vacant back into use. People have been moved out of up to 20 council owned properties in the Letterkenny Milford Municipal which have been affected by defective blocks. Councillor Gerry McMonagle believes a process needs

Concerns have been raised over vacant roles in the Corporate Services Department of Donegal County Council. It is understood a number of staff have retired in recent times and while the local authority says efforts are being made to recruit for the roles, to date, they remain empty. Councillor Ciaran Brogan says the issue needs

The Taoiseach says he will consider a further deferral of the national rates revaluation process which is now underway. Donegal is one of the first counties in which the process is underway, with fears that this may mean some businesses will see their rates bill increase significantly in years to come. In the Dail, Fianna

The Mayor of Letterkenny Milford Municipal District says the process of reinvigorating Letterkenny’s Market Square could have been delayed if agreement hadn’t been reached this week on taxi spaces. The draft proposal saw all taxi spaces taken away from Market Square and outside the Market Centre, and moved down Main Street past the Courtyard Shopping

The Chairperson of the Mica Action Group says the Government is trying to divide the country over the mica redress scheme. Lisa Hone was the homeowner representative at today’s Oireachtas Committee meeting about the controversial concrete levy, which was introduced in Budget 2023 and intended to fund mica redress. She was joined by reps from

The head of the Construction Industry Federation says whatever actions are taken by government to recover the cost of the defective Blocks Scheme, the reality is that the bulk of the burden will ultinately fall on the taxpayer. Answering questions from Deputy Mick Barry, Tom Parlon acknowledged that there was no regulation in terms of

The Chairperson of the Mica Action Group has told an Oireachtas Committee that the proposed concrete levy is just adding “insult to injury” for Mica homeowners. Lisa Hone was speaking in front of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform this afternoon She says that taxpayers are being given the full blame