Author name: highlandnews

The Government must ensure empty social homes around the country are brought back into use. That’s the call from Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan, who says that the amount of vacant homes in the state is a slap in the face to those struggling to put a roof over their head. New record homeless figures

There’s further calls for the public to have their say in the election of representatives onto the board of Udaras na Gaeltachta. An election by Donegal County Councillors will take place on Monday. However, Councillor Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig believes a decision to scrap a public vote over 10 years ago should be reversed.

A Ballybofey Councillor has called on the Council not to charge electric car owners for parking at charging points. Cllr Martin Harley believes parking at charging points should be free as an incentive for people to purchase electric cars. Two new charging points are being installed in the county, one of them in Ballybofey. Cllr

The former British soldier David Holden has been convicted of manslaughter of Aidan McAnespie in 1988 in Northern Ireland. Mr. McAnespie, who was 23 years old and un-armed, was shot after passing a military checkpoint in County Tyrone. James Gould reports:  

Junior Health Minister Frank Feighan is in Donegal today for the launch of the the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Initiative. The launch is in two stages, with an event in Gweedore this morning, and another in Buncrana this afternoon.   The programme is a collaboration between the Department of Health, Donegal County Council, the HSE and

Mica Action Group is urging all defective concrete block homeowners to make their presence felt at a gathering in Lifford on Monday. A peaceful gathering of defective concrete homeowners and supporters is being held in Lifford at the County Offices on Monday at 10am to concide with the last Donegal County Council meeting of the

Ryan Tubridy spoke with Lee Gooch on the Naughty Alarm Clock this morning ahead of the biggest show of the year – The Late Late Toy show….  Listen here now to hear Ryan make a special promise to Lee to have the book ‘See Me’ featuring 56 members from Donegal Down Syndrome Association and surrounding

Local authorities failed to monitor over a quarter of small private water supplies for E. coli last year. The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report says continuing risks to public health in private drinking water supplies are not being tackled. The 1,700 small private supplies serve food businesses, nursing homes, crèches and B&Bs. Programme manager with

The Health Minister is being urged to engage with a consultant urologist at Letterkenny University Hospital who resigned from public practice earlier this week. Mr Asadulla Aslam stood down after what he says is ‘impossible working conditions’. He has blamed a lack of resources, reactive policies and onerous and impracticable on-call demands for his decision.

One in every five low paid workers in Ireland is aged over 50. A new report by researchers at UCD has found that of the 420,000 low paid workers in the country, around 80,000 are aged over 50. It says older low paid workers are more likely to be employed in admin and caring roles

The theme of this year’s Late Late Toy Show has been revealed. Host Ryan Tubridy will be following the yellow brick road, as the night is expected to be filled with music and magic from ‘The Wizard of Oz’. It’s the 14th year Tubridy will be hosting the event. He says there will be no

A local Councillor has called for repair works to be carried out on the road surface on Convoy main street. The road is reportedly breaking up and major cracks are visible along the route. The road was resurfaced only a few years ago but has deteriorated recently. Local Councillor Liam Doherty says work needs to

The HSE’s Regional Health Forum has been told it’s vital that conversations are maintained on the provision of a new Community Hospital for Lifford. Lifford Hospital is now closed, with a recommendation that a new facility be developed on a greenfield site. The issue was raised this week by Cllr Gerry Crawford, who asked about

Donegal Hoteliers have raised the ongoing challenges for the tourism industry during a meeting with TDs and Senators in the county. The meeting heard that while there has been a welcomed upturn in tourism, businesses are now dealing with skyrocketing energy costs and an expected global economic downturn next year. Niall Coffey from Harvey’s Point

A Donegal Deputy has hit out at plans for a price increase at road tolls. Toll charges on most toll roads around the country are to increase to their “maximum level” from 1 January 2023 following a decision by state body Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Tanaiste Leo Varadkar though, says while they have time to

Fishing industry representatives in Donegal have welcomed a commitment from the Tánaiste that Fine Gael will take a leading role in transforming the fishing sector. The commitments were secured at a series of meetings at the recent Fine Gael Ard Fheis during a series of meetings and debates about the fishing industry. The rising cost

The man who helped solve the mystery of the disappearance of a Donegal man who went missing over 30 years ago says it has brought closure to the family. Paul McGinty from Mountcharles disappeared in England in April 1991. His body was found in Meath and buried in an unmarked grave. The unidentified body was

The lead Cervical Check report author says doctors must practice open disclosure and it should not be optional. The government-appointed investigator into the scandal, Dr. Gabriel Scally, yesterday published a 39-page report into the progress made to date. He said improvements have been implemented, but there’s still serious work to be done. Speaking on today’s

There have been 81 delayed discharges from Letterkenny University Hospital this year due to a shortfall of carers. That’s an increase of 42% on the number of delayed discharges last year. 57 were recorded during the entirty of 2021. The HSE has confirmed that a robust recruitment campaign for carers in Donegal is ongoing. Councillor