Author name: highlandnews

Britain’s Prime Minister has announced her resignation, telling a press conference at Downing Street that a successor will be in place within a week. Liz Truss has faced growing pressure among her own Conservative MPs to stand down, following weeks of economic and political turmoil. After just 44 days in office, she becomes the UK’s

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Designate says she believes another Assembly election is on the cards. Michelle O’Neill says the internal difficulties of the Conservative Party in London are hampering efforts to find resolution to issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol. The north’s caretaker ministers will lose their powers in 8 days time if there’s no

Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has again lobbied the Government to implement a ban on energy disconnections this winter. He told Minister Eamon Ryan that hundreds of thousands of households across the country have been abandoned. Deputy Doherty says despite Minister Ryan recognising that this winter will be severe. He says people on pre-paid metres are

The Chair of Donegal County Council’s Mica Redress Committee says efforts need to revolve now around making the redress scheme work for as many people as possible. The revised Mica redress scheme is expected to be up and running by February. Councillor Martin McDermott says its important that something is done for those living in

Graffiti that’s appeared in Portrush about James Nesbitt is being treated as a hate crime. The message threatening the Cold Feet star was on a wall in Portrush. The actor recently spoke at an event in Dublin organised by a campaign group advocating for a united Ireland. Local MLA Cara Hunter says the graffiti does

There is still time for people to join a group legal action against Irish Water in relation to leaks in copper pipes from the Gortahork Falcarragh treatment plant. 60 people have to date, joined the legal actions with some proceedings already issued. Independent testing has been carried out and it was confirmed that the manner

A new scheme is being launched today to attract more people into organic farming. 256 million euro is being made available as part of the Common Agricultural Plan. Dry stock farmers could qualify for yearly payments of up to 300 euro per hectare. Junior Agriculture Minister Pippa Hackett says the financial incentives to go organic

The nursing home sector is facing its worst ever crisis, according to an Independent TD. 16 private nursing homes have closed so far this year and 450 beds are gone. The cost of living crisis is being partly blamed for the problems in the sector. South Donegal Deputy, Marian Harkin, says the Fair Deal programme

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will travel to Brussels today for a two-day meeting of the European Council. EU leaders will discuss the energy crisis and how to offset the impact of high energy on households and businesses. The council will also discuss Ukraine, economic issues and the upcoming climate change conference, Cop 27, in November. Minister

A Donegal TD has claimed the Department of Agriculture and the Marine is working against the Irish fishing industry rather than for it. Speaking ahead of a two day European Summit which begins today, Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn urged Minister for Europe Thomas Byrne and Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue to start fighting for Irish fishing communities

The Dail has been told there’s an urgent need for more Community Welfare Officers to meet the increased demands for the service in Donegal. Deputy Thomas Pringle told the Taoiseach that many more people are applying for exceptional needs payments due to the energy crisis, and that’s creating a backlog in the system. Deputy Pringle

A Midlands North West MEP is backing a European Parliament’s call for the rollout of car charging stations every 60km on main roads in the EU by 2026. MEPs backed the proposal during a vote in Strasbourg this week, urging to present plans on hjow to achieve this by 2024. Fine Gael’s Colm Markey says

Taoiseach Michael Martin has told the Dail he believes the National Rail Strategy may provide some answers to the connectivity issues being highlighted in the North West. He was responsing to Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald, who asked if the government would provide support to City of Derry Airport, given that 40% of its

The Foreign Affairs Minister’s been criticising paramilitaries on his latest trip to Belfast. It’s now seven months since Simon Coveney’s last visit to the Houben Centre was cut short by a bomb-scare, which involved a van hijacking. The UVF later claimed responsibility – and in a statement said Irish politicians were ‘not welcome in Northern

Planning permission for an extension to a wind farm in West Donegal has been refused. Maas Wind Limited had applied to Donegal County Council to erect an additional 3 wind turbines in the Loughderryduff area of Ardara. There has been much opposition in the locality to the plans with thousands previously signing a petition against

Sexual abuse of under 18s by other children in Donegal is a pandemic. That’s according to the Manager of the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre. In the past week alone, five 15 year old girls who were sexually abused by a peer were referred to the centre. Marina Porter says there seems to

A Donegal cancer patient has hit out at the HSE over the lack of resources at Letterkenny University Hospital to deal with patients undergoing treatment. Roseena Toner was diagnosed with leukemia in 2021, receiving treatment in Galway and St James’ Hospital, Dublin. She says she was shocked when she began her care at Letterkenny University

The Dail has been told that households must be protected from electricity and gas disconnections this winter. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says many people are having sleepless nights as they fear how they are going to keep on top of mounting energy bills. He says the Government has refused to provide certainty to homeowners in

The defective block issue affecting thousands of homeowners in Donegal has been described as a ‘humanitarian crisis’. Donegal Deputy Padriag MacLochlainn was speaking during topical issues in the Dail last night during which he challenged the Minister on the need to resource emergency temporary accommodation for affected homeowners now living in dangerous properties. Neither the

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will return to Belfast today to complete a speech that was cut short by a hoax bomb threat in March. Simon Coveney was speaking at a peace-building event at the Houben Centre on March 25th and had to be escorted from the building due to a suspected UVF

Over 58,000 people have been waiting over a year for a vital scan to diagnose a medical problem. They include MRIs, ultrasounds and CT scans. A total of almost 239,000 people are waiting for an outpatient scan in a hospital. GP Martin Daly says the delays are completely unacceptable:

Donegal TD Thomas Pringle, has asked the Taoiseach how long he will leave mica-affected homeowners in limbo. Addressing Michael Martin in the Dail chamber, Deputy Pringle said the Mica Action Group has been in existence since 2014, and the last eight years have brought nothing but stress and heartbreak to them. Deputy Pringle claimed the

The concrete block levy will be cut to 5 per cent and its introduction has been delayed. Finance Minister Pascal Donohoe’s confirmed it will now take effect from the first of September next year. The money raised by the levy is designed to contribute towards meeting the cost of the Mica redress scheme. There had