Author name: highlandnews

Officials meet in Brussels today to sign off on coordinated measures to deal with an upsurge in Covid 19 cases. Its likely to include increased domestic surveillance across the bloc along with wastewater monitoring and pre-departure testing for those arriving in Europe from China. The European Union fears an influx of new cases after Beijing

House prices rose by just over 9% last year in Donegal, according to the latest analysis report published this morning by Daft.ie. The average house in Donegal is just under €197,000, compared to a national average of just under €310,000. In Donegal, house prices in the final three months of 2022 were 9.3% higher than

In a statement this afternoon, Saolta says Letterkenny University Hospital remains under significant pressure as a result of high attendances along with COVID-19 and flu outbreaks at the hospital. There were 116 attendances at the Emergency Department yesterday, and as of 8 o’clock this morning, there were 56 patients awaiting admission. All available beds are

The number of new car registrations in Donegal in 2022 has bucked the national trend. 2,534 new cars were registered in the county last year, up 5% when compared to the previous year. According to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, nationally, 105,253 new cars were registered in Ireland in 2022, representing a slight

931 patients are without a bed in Irish hospitals today, a new record. It comes as the Health Executive asks patients to avoid Emergency Departments unless necessary, as the system grapples with one of its ‘busiest ever periods’. 52 people are on a trolley at Letterkenny University Hospital today. A new record has been set

Gardai are appealing for information in connection with a number of criminal damage incidents that occurred in Donegal over the Christmas and New year period. In one instance, damage was caused to a car in Letterkenny. Elsewhere, a window of a licenced premises was smashed in Lifford while in the Falcarragh area on New Year’s

Gardaí are appealing for information after a man was assaulted in Buncrana on Christmas Eve. Shortly after 3am, Gardai received a report of a man laying on the Main Street. Upon arrival, Gardai found the man conscious. It’s believed he was set upon by an unknown man. Anyone who may have witnessed the assault or

Investigations are continuing following a crash in the Falcarragh area yesterday which resulted in a number of people being hospitalised. The collision occurred at Devlin, on the Glenveagh to Mount Errigal road at the turn off for Muckish at around 3pm. The injuries sustained by the occupants of both cars are not believed to be

A status yellow wind warning has been issued for Donegal. Very strong and gusty southwest winds are being forecast, especially near coasts and over high ground. The warning comes into effect at 11pm tonight and will remain in place until 3am tomorrow.

A motorist has been arrested in Carndonagh and their vehicle seized. The Buncrana Roads Policing Unit were on patrol in the area yesterday when the motorist initially caught their attention as they were not wearing a seat belt. They were subsequently stopped and spoken to. It then transpired that the driver was not only travelling

The Lough Swilly Lifeboat was launched over 30 times last year. In an end of year statement, the rescue service says it was a challenging year for them. The RNLI has thanked their team and volunteer crews who made sure Lough Swilly station was always available when needed. They say crews will continue to train

The HSE has issued an appeal to people seeking medical care or assessment to consider all options before going to a hospital Emergency Department. It expects it to be one of the busiest ever periods experienced by the health service. The Health Service Executive says while some patients will experience long wait times in Emergency

Donegal County Council say all routes on their gritting map are being treated this afternoon. Gritting began at 3pm on the main routes in the county. A full list of the roads being gritted is here: https://donegal.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6c6e14762485409cbf66df0c69cbd8f2

Third level students will be entitled to higher maintenance grants from today, for the rest of the academic year and beyond. The base rate of the maintenance grant is going up by 10 percent for all students who are eligible for it, with further changes depending on the type of grant you receive. Those receiving

Tributes have been paid to the former Prior of Lough Derg, Monsignor Richard Mohan, who passed away yesterday. Mohan was Prior of Lough Derg from 1990 until 2013. In a statement, the Lough Derg sanctuary said that he would be “…fondly remembered by thousands of Lough Derg pilgrims all over the island of Ireland and

New statistics from the Department of Education show that as of the 22nd of December, almost 14,000 Ukrainian children are enrolled in Irish schools. Donegal students account for 8.4% of the national total of 13,753, with 1,157 in the county – up 98 from November. 752 of the children are in Primary School, with 405

Donegal County Council says that all routes on its gritting map will be covered tonight and tomorrow morning, after Met Eireann issued a nationwide status yellow fog an ice warning. Gritters will be on the roads from 9pm tonight (Sunday 1st), and will be on roads again from 6am tomorrow morning (Monday 2nd). Motorists are

A status yellow fog and ice warning has been issued by Met Eireann for the entire Republic of Ireland. The forecaster is warning that icy stretches and patches of freezing fog may lead to hazardous road conditions in some areas overnight. The warning is valid from 11pm tonight, and is valid until 11am tomorrow morning.

The minimum wage increase announced in the Budget comes into effect today. Workers will see an increase of 80c per hour, from €10.50 to €11.30. This means a minimum wage employee working a 39-hour week can now expect their pay to increase by more than 120 euro per month.

The Malin Head Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre helped rescue almost 500 people in danger, and saved a total of 64 lives in 2022. The centre helped co-ordinate the response to 616 total incidents last year, assisting 482 people who were in distress and saving 64 lives. In a statement on social media, the Malin

Eligibility thresholds for social housing are increasing by €5,000 across the country today. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien says it’s the first time any changes have been made for a decade. The new income limits are now in place and all Local Authorities have updated their application forms and systems. The rate is now €30,000 in

The second of three €200 energy credits promised by Government is set to be applied to bills tomorrow. The €200 credit will be automatically deducted from household electric bills. A final energy credit is expected to be handed out in March, but if the war in Ukraine persists, it’s believed the Government may have to

Irish water say they are investigating a water outage in the Killylastin area of Letterkenny. In a statement posted online they said they are currently investigating reports of a supply disruption and that more details would be made available soon.

Police are appealing for information following an arson attack that took place in Derry early this Saturday morning. They say the alarm was raised at 7:50am at a property in the Shearwater Way area of Derry city, where a boarded up window of a house had been set alight. The fire service extinguished the blaze

Social welfare payments will increase by €12 per week starting from Monday. There are also increases to disability and care allowances. The Department of Social Protection the increase to cost an additional €1 billion. The new measures will come into effect from next week, and include the threshold expanding for the Working Family Payment by

Former Pope Benedict has died at the age of 95. The Vatican says he passed away this morning in a monastery. In 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff for 600 years to resign. He continued to live at the Vatican after his successor Pope Francis’s appointment.

The Office of the Planning Regulator has published its Annual Overview of the Planning System for 2021. It shows that during 2021, 1,750 valid planning applications were approved and 101 were refused by Donegal County Council. That’s an approval rate of 95%. 3.5% of planning application decisions made by Donegal County Council were appealed to