Author name: highlandnews

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

In a statement this afternoon, Letterkenny University Hospital says there were 144 attendances at the Emergency Department yesterday, and as of 2pm today, there are 31 patients awaiting admission in ED. All available beds are in use, and the hospital is making every effort to discharge patients who are ready to go home. People who

The NoWDOC GP Out of Hours Service is asking people to be patient ahead of the New Year Bank Holiday weekend. The service experienced a high volume of calls over the Christmas period and are predicting a high volume of calls again this weekend. Urgent calls are prioritised and are dealt with first. The service is asking

Irish Water says it is currently investigating reports of a supply disruption in Dungloe and surrounding areas. No further details have been given, and there is no indication as to when the issues may be resolved. Meanwhile, local Councillor Michael Choilm MacGiolla Easbuig has repeated his belief that there is a serious issue with the

26 people lost their lives in work-related incidents in 2022. That’s down 31% on figures from last year and the lowest figure since the HSA was established over 30 years ago. One of those deaths occurred in Donegal. Construction and Farming sectors account for almost three quarters of all work-related fatalities. Of the 26 fatalities,

  If you are making online purchases over the festive period, remember to shop safely, that’s the message from Gardaí in Donegal. Gardaí are advising people to buy only from trusted websites and avoid buying from people who are unknown and whose identity cannot be verified. There was a total of €22 million in credit

631 patients are without a bed in Irish hospitals today. The INMO is calling on the HSE to intervene to protect the wellbeing of hospital staff. Letterkenny University Hospital is the third most overcrowded in the country today with 50 patients on a trolley. 26 people are waiting on a bed in the hospital’s Emergency

A status yellow severe weather alert has been issued for Donegal. Met Eireann is warning of heavy rainfall in Donegal from 10pm tonight until 8am tomorrow. A similar warning has been issued for Tyrone and Derry which comes into effect at midnight.

The Save Our Beach at Castlegoland campaign has stepped up this week. There is an ongoing dispute over right of way at the beach in Portnoo. On Tuesday, the campaign group placed a mobile home on Castlegoland Beach in protest and as part of the campaign for the restoration of public vehicular access right of

Bus Éireann has seen a strong return to pre-Covid passenger levels in 2022. The service operated more than 225 million kilometres. For the past number of months, overall road passenger numbers are 15% higher than in 2019. The Expressway service has also seen increased demand on services – with Routes 30 and 32 from Donegal

A motorist has been arrested in the Buncrana area on suspicion of drug driving. Gardai attached to the Buncrana Roads Policing Unit earlier this week, detected a strong smell of cannabis from a car. They subsequently conducted a roadside drug test. The driver was also found to be in possession of a small quantity of

A number of rivers in Donegal are open for Salmon Angling in 2023. Nine rivers in the Ballyshannon area and a further 14 rivers in the Letterkenny District have been included in the list of 81 rivers which will be available for salmon and sea trout fishing in 2023. The Minister for the Environment, Climate

Gardai are following a definite line of inquiry in connection with the vandalising of a football pitch in Inishowen. On Wednesday night last, it’s believed a car rammed through the gate of Glengad FC before causing significant damage to the pitch. The club’s Chairman, Councillor Martin McDermott has thanked those who came forward with information

Parents are being warned to screen their kid’s online activity. It’s after a Derry man was charged with one count of attempted sexual communication with a child. Speaking to the Independent, a spokesperson for the PSNI said that with many children receiving new devices for Christmas, parents should be sure to monitor who their children

Repairs to a burst water main are causing supply disruptions to Killymasny, Glenswilly and surrounding areas. Irish Water crews are working to restore supply as soon as possible. Irish Water recommend that you allow 2-3 hours after the estimated restoration time for your supply to fully return.

571 people are waiting for beds in hospitals across the country today, 50 of those in Letterkenny University Hospital. 456 patients are in emergency departments, while 115 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital, according to the INMO’s Trolley Watch. University Hospital Limerick is the worst affected, with 79 people on trolleys.  

Met Eireann has issued a Level Yellow severe weather alert for wind in Donegal. The warning will come into force from 5am tomorrow morning (Thursday) until 11am. Met Eireann are warning of  strong to gale force westerly winds of 50 to 60 km/h, with occasional gusts of 90 to 110 km/hr. Winds will be strongest

There are reports of water disruption in Carnamogagh Upper, Letterkenny. Irish Water say they are currently investigating reports of a supply disruption to Carnamogagh Upper, Letterkenny and surrounding areas in Donegal.

Primary schools will be spending less time learning religion, with a new focus on foreign languages and wellbeing. The move is part of a number of the biggest changes to the Irish curriculum in more than two decades. It looks as if the Irish primary school curriculum is in for a revamp, with religion teaching