Author name: highlandnews

Calls have been made to allow a group of children with Cystic Fibrosis to be allowed access to a potentially life-changing drug. Anja Friel’s 5 year old son Tristan has the rare disease, and says that initially they were promised that Tristan would be allowed access to the drug Kaftrio. However, Tristan and 34 other

A senior Government Minister says there is no justification for the delays seen recently at Dublin airport. The Government’s demanded a plan from the DAA by this morning to ensure there is no repeat of the scenes witnessed on Sunday when 1,000 people missed their flights and thousands of passengers were forced to queue for

European Union leaders have reached a compromise to impose an embargo on all Russian oil brought in by sea – which EU leaders say consists of 90 percent of all oil imports from Russia. EU members spent hours struggling to resolve their differences over the ban, with Hungary its main opponent. The deal will cut

Campaigners from the traveller will gather outside the Dail later to demand a government action plan to tackle high rates of mental health illness and suicide in the community. The Traveller Mental Health Network, which’s organising the protest, says it expects hundreds to attend. Studies show the suicide rate among travellers is seven times higher

Donegal Action for Cancer Care says it has received confirmation that the second Breast Surgeon post at Letterkenny University Hospital has now been made permanent post. The incumbent took up the positon in 2017, but it emerged at the time that the position was offered on a locum basis, and DACC Chair Betty Holmes says

There have been calls for a dedicated housing section to be immediately set up to expedite social and afford house building. At this week’s meeting of Donegal County Council meeting, Cllr Patrick McGowan called for a section to be set up in main towns throughout the county to speed up building. He also called for

A Donegal County councillor has asked how new bye-laws regarding dogs on blue flag beaches are going to be policed. At this week’s meeting of Donegal County Council, it was confirmed that the draft bye-laws banning of dogs on blue flag beaches during peak summer times is to go out to public consultation. Cllr Nicholas

The Taoiseach has said the chaos at Dublin Airport over the past few days is unacceptable. Dublin Airport Authority will have daily meetings with the Department of Transport aimed at solving issues which have led to massive queues and hundreds of missed flights. The DAA has been tasked with coming up with solutions by tomorrow

The lack of electric car charging points in Donegal is resulting in tourists cancelling their holidays, according to a local councillor. The issue was raised by Cllr Michael McClafferty, who told today’s meeting of Donegal County Council that the rising popularity of electric cars is being ignored. He said he fears people will not come

A motion has been passed by the Derry City and Strabane District Council, stating its support for the establishment of an Irish Passport Office in the North. The motion, tabled by Sinn Fein Councillor Emma McGinley, is the second such motion to be passed by the Council in the last few years. She says that

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has established Ireland’s first accredited third-level programme on conflict resolution in collaboration with ATU Donegal. 25 Sergeants and Inspectors commenced the 12-week programme which will support AGSI members in advocacy and negotiation on pay, conditions and welfare. It’s expected that hundreds more Sergeants and Inspectors will join the

Chaotic scenes at Dublin Airport which led to long queues were a ‘blip’ according to the Dublin Airport Authority. It’s been confirmed that around 1,000 people missed their flights when passengers were stranded in queues outside and inside both terminal buildings. Junior Transport Minister Hildegarde Naughton is meeting the DAA Chief Executive this morning to

We’re being reassured that there is nothing to fear after the first case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Ireland. A second suspected case is also being investigated. Professor of infectious diseases Sam McConkey says further cases are likely – although it’s transmissible, it’s also very treatable, and could be easy to halt the spread….

  Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle has called for a follow up report to the Brandon Report to be published, after further concerns were raised at the weekend that more allegations of sexual abuse could emerge. The “Brandon Report” was released in December of last year, and outlined 108 incidents of serious assault carried out by

The Relay for Life returned to the ATU campus in Letterkenny over the weekend for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. A cast of stars from the music world were there to provide the entertainment across Saturday and Sunday, most notably the patron of the Donegal Relay for Life, Daniel O’Donnell.

The PRO of the Mica Action Group has hit out at further Government delays to the delivery of a revised Mica redress scheme. Speaking in his weekly online update, Michael Doherty says that the main Government party leaders were supposed to have discussed the draft memo for the new Mica legislation a week ago –

The Taoiseach says he’d be in favour of retaining the recent reduction in fares on public transport. The 20 percent cut for bus and rail users is set to expire at the end of the year. It was part of a number of measures introduced to help people deal with the rising cost of living.

Sinn Fein’s now more popular than Fianna Fail and Fine Gael combined, according to a new poll. The Business Post/ Red C survey has the party polling at 36 percent, while Fianna Fail are on 20 and Fine Gael on 15 percent support. The poll also highlights overwhelming public support for a shift in housing

A new research project to explore the impact of tourism on island communities in Donegal will begin next week. Utilising the European Tourism Indicator System, researchers from the Atlantic Technology University (ATU) will collaborate with island communities to explore the impact of tourism on the local communities, economy and environment. On Monday, researchers will travel

The first case of monkeypox has been identified in the Republic. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says it was detected by health authorities yesterday. It comes as the first case of the mild illness on the island was confirmed in the north on Thursday. Minister Donnelly says vaccines are on the way to help fight the

A Donegal Deputy has criticised the Government’s handling of passport services, as many people are facing long delays in getting their passport applications processed. Thomas Pringle says that employees in his constituency office often have a hard time getting through to the Passport Office, even through the dedicated Oireachtas line. Deputy Pringle also likened the

Local authorities across rural Ireland will be given funding to purchase vacant and derelict sites to repurpose as community spaces. Up to 400 thousand euro will be available per local authority each year. The funding aims to revitalise rural towns and villages so they become attractive, vibrant places for people to live and work. Irish

The Mica Action Group says it now anticipates that the revised Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme will be published on Tuesday week June 7th. With that in mind, the group has now written to Deputy Steven Matthews, Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing urging him to push for pre-legislative scrutiny of the forthcoming bill. The