Author name: highlandnews

Medical card patients who are entitled to free care have received more than €2,600 in refunds in recent years after being charged for blood tests by their GPs. Dr Denis McCauley, GP Chair with for the Irish Medical Organisation says the medical card scheme is for acute care, and the refunds were in very specific […]

A Letterkenny councillor has urged people living in the Bonagee area to attend a vital public consultation into a project to upgrade the wastewater treatment and collection in the area. Cllr Donal Coyle says the scheme, which was first proposed around 30 years ago, could provide much needed infrastructure in Bonagee, Drumany, Drumnahoe, Lurgybrack, Leck

The government is being warned it won’t be able to please everyone with next year’s budget. The Fiscal Advisory Council says there isn’t enough money to bring in all measures mentioned for inclusion in Budget 2023, such as higher public sector wages, welfare payments, and cost-of-living supports. The watchdog says ministers face a ‘delicate balancing

An IT firm that employs over 1,000 people in Letterkenny says with increasing digitization, the threat of cyber attacks is also rising and so is the demand for IT security experts. According to the latest Risk & Cybersecurity Study by Letterkenny based IT business Tata Consultancy Services, the biggest challenge in cybersecurity is not budgets,

A Donegal TD is urging Irish people to remain vigilant against any moves to undermine Irish military neutrality. Deputy Thomas Pringle says he’s concerned at reports that Ireland is to support “in principle” the establishment of an EU military training mission for Ukraine’s armed forces. Deputy Pringle says maintaining a neutral stance can be difficult,

The Housing Minister is appealing to people in social housing to engage with their local authority, if they’re struggling to pay rent. It comes as new figures show social housing tenants owe almost 105 million euro to city and town councils across the country. Darragh O’Brien says the tenants won’t be made homeless if they

The Environment Minister says local authorities have been too slow delivering the deep retrofitting scheme. The scheme offers homeowners close to half the cost of a deep retrofit to improve their homes energy efficiency. The programme for government and the Climate Action Plan set targets to retrofit 500,000 homes over the next 10 years. Eamon

The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council says he’s been inundated with phone calls about a disgusting foul smell that has arisen in Milford. The smell is believed to be coming from the sewage treatment plant and it is believed that the plant is not fit for capacity. A new plant is planned for the area

Gardai are appealing for information following the theft of 15 lobster pots from Mulroy Bay. The incident was reported on August 25th but the pots were set out of July 14th. 33 other pots were also cut but were repairable. There was similar incidents reported in Inishowen earlier this month and Sergeant Paul Wallace says

Residents in Cloontagh Clonmany are being urged to report any suspicious activity after a number of incidents in the area. On August 21st Gardaí received a report of eggs thrown at the house of an elderly person overnight. This follows a number of reports of damage to houses in the area. Most recently it was

Gardaí are warning of an increase in the thefts of metal and construction materials following two incidents in the county. On August 23rd around 12.45pm, Gardai received a report of a burglary at Carrowmaddy, Burt and damage was caused to the rear door, window and patio door of the property. A Copper cylinder, kitchen units

Motorists have been urged to obey the pedestrian crossing at the Aura Leisure Centre. The pedestrian crossing was installed over a year ago to assist pedestrians cross the busy road. However, it has been claimed that many motorists do not obey by the crossing. Speaking on today’s Nine Til Noon show, Helena appealed for motorists

Two teenage boys, both aged 16, have died after getting into difficulty while swimming in Lough Enagh in the Temple Road area of Derry. Police received a report shortly after 6.25pm yesterday, Monday 29th August, of a number of people in difficulty in the water. Officers attended along with colleagues from other emergency services. One male

A European Union-wide cap on electricity prices and major reform of the EU’s electricity market is urgently required to address soaring bills according to Fine Gael’s Colm Markey. The Midlands-North-West MEP said the current system is not fit for purpose as currently, wholesale electricity prices are linked to the price of gas. That’s despite only

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) Summer Academy is being held in Donegal this week with over 150 delegates from 19 regions in Europe expected to attend. The AER is the largest independent network of regional authorities in wider Europe and brings its flagship conference to Donegal after a two year hiatus. The opening ceremony

A Development Group in Rathmullan says it hopes a proposed Rural Regeneration Project which is planned for the area can begin within two years. The project, which focuses on three key sites, is in addition to a €3.5 million project to secure the structure integrity of the pier, and ensure the potential of Rathmullan’s deep

Inland Fisheries Ireland say they are confident they have established the cause of a major fish kill in the Glenagannon River that happened at the weekend. Over 2,250 juvenile brown trout and Atlantic salmon were killed in the incident, covering a full 4 kilometres of the river. IFI say that they are following a definite

Donegal ETB has published its updated prospectus for the 2022-23 academic year, with over 120 full time and part time further education and training courses available in the county. Three new courses are on offer for students this year, including a Data Science course that will provide students with practical skills and experience in data

Not all who applied for free school transport were eligible to receive it, according to the Education Minister. 130 thousand applications were made for children to get school buses, but around 15 thousand didn’t receive an offer. There was a spike in applications after the Department of Education waived school transport fees for this year.

The Education Minister says English and Irish Paper 1 exams will be ‘remodelled’ as students look set to sit those exams at the end of Fifth Year – a year earlier than usual. It comes amid warnings that male students could be at a significant disadvantage if the plans are introduced due to their maturity

A Donegal Deputy says that fish processors in Killybegs having to contact Spanish and Norwegian trawlers to receive fish caught in local waters is “madness”. Sinn Fein’s Marine Spokesperson Padraig Mac Lochlainn took to social media over the weekend, claiming that many Irish fishing boats are tied up at the docks due to EU policy

The Government is being called on to continue the maintenance of School libraries. In a pre- budget submission Children’s Books Ireland is calling for the one off payment of 20 million euro, made in last year’s budget to be continued. CEO of the organisation Elaina Ryan says the payment equates to just over 20 euro

The Government needs to do more to help people in the property sector. That’s according to a new survey out today from MyHome.ie Almost half of prospective home buyers, and almost two thirds of renters in the housing market say the cost of living has affected their ability to buy or rent. Joanne Geary, Managing