Author name: highlandnews

Letterkenny University Hospital is under increasing pressure due to Covid-19. 39 infectious cases are currently being dealt with at the hospital. Staff shortages due to an increase in staff testing positive for Covid-19 is also having a knock-on effect Speaking on today’s Nine til Noon Show, Sean Murphy, General Manager of Letterkenny University Hospital says

The Dail has been told that insurance costs continue to cripple people. Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says a properly functioning insurance market is vital. Speaking during statements on insurance reform, Deputy Doherty says despite the number of claims falling by 25%, insurance costs are on the rise. He says all sectors

Ireland’s economy will continue to grow this year despite significant global challenges. In its quarterly economic commentary, the ESRI expects GDP growth of 6.8 percent. However it has revised down growth in the domestic economy to 4.4 percent, from 5 percent in the previous bulletin. The institute forecasts inflation to average 7.1 percent this year,

An Independent Senator has raised the issue of a lack of special education spaces for children with needs. Senator Eileen Flynn addressed Minister of State Josepha Madigan in the Seanad yesterday, urging her to give assurances that sufficient spaces for children with special educational needs would be provided. Senator Flynn says that the current system

A Donegal Deputy has called for a strong process for recording hate crimes and hate speech to be implemented in Ireland. Research shows that only 25 percent of crimes were reported to police in 2021, down from 43 percent in 2020, and those who reported expressed extremely low levels of satisfaction. Independent TD for Donegal,

A ceremonial restoring of the sod will take place on Mount Errigal tomorrow, to mark the latest developments in the Sustainable Access and Restoration Project on the mountain. The project will see the 3km path up the mountain upgraded after years of wear and tear, as well as a re-vegetation of ground that has been

A local Councillor has welcomed the opening of the new school building at Scoil Mhuire in Stranorlar today. The new state-of-the-art school building was opened today, with staff and students taking a symbolic walk from the old school campus to the new building. The new Scoil Mhuire Stranorlar school building has 24 classrooms, a PE

The Taoiseach has said the State has a legal obligation to restore wages to higher earning civil servants. Around 4,000 top civil servants already earning over €150,000 a year are set to see their pay restored to pre-austerity levels. This is despite pay talks having ground to a halt last week for other public sector

The leader of the DUP has accused the EU of trying to “punish” businesses in the North. The EU’s always said it wants to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Last week Brussels announced it’s taking legal action over the UK’s decision to unilaterally override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. European

The Housing Minister remains confident Mica legislation will be passed before the Dail summer recess. The Defective Concrete Blocks Bill will go through a shortened form of pre-legislative scrutiny tomorrow before it comes before the Dail and Seanad. In responding to Sinn Fein’s Housing Spokesperson, Eoin O’Brion in the Dail this afternoon, Minister Darragh O’Brien

The number of children in care in Donegal has slightly decreased from a peak at the end of last year. 226 children were in care in the county at the end of last year, that is down to 218, according to latest figures. 41 children are in care under a voluntary agreement. Gerry Hone, Tusla

Minister Charlie McConalogue says it will be early next year before the inclusion of foundations in the enhanced Mica redress scheme is confirmed. He says houses are not required to be built on the existing foundations of a property but rather the footprint. The National Standards Authority of Ireland has been tasked to provide scientific

Garda resources are diminishing further in West Donegal. This week it emerged that the patrol car in Falcarragh has now reached end of life with no current plan to replace it. Meanwhile, Dunfanaghy has been without a car since October which was also used to serve the Creeslough area. In the event of an emergency

The PRO of the Mica Action Group says the Government acted in bad faith by publishing the revised Defective Concrete Blocks Bill yesterday evening. Michael Doherty says the latest version of the bill is the same one homeowners were shown last week – when they were given promises that their feedback would be added to

A Donegal Deputy has called on the Government to provide assistance payments for fishing fleets struggling with the cost of fuel. Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn told the Dail that fishermen are struggling due to the rising cost of running their boats, as well as the loss of fish quotas in recent years. He says extra

Childcare providers and parents will protest outside Leinster House later over funding for the sector. Providers are warning hundreds of pre-schools could close under a proposed government model, which would cap fees at last year’s inflation rate of 2.2 percent. The Federation of Early Childcare Providers is calling for a subsidy of 100 euro per

The Dáil will today be told the ongoing closure of respite services is coming at a ‘significant human cost’ to carers. The Independent Group will call for all respite beds to be immediately reinstated – after being closed due to the Covid crisis. In a Dáil motion, it will say the number of people on

The Department of Education is ‘failing’ children with special educational needs, according to the Ombudsman for Children. A new report highlights discrimination and a lack of planning when it comes to special education. It estimates 15,500 children currently have to travel outside their local school-catchment area, with 72-thousand euro a day being spent on transport

Students eligible for the SUSI grant can now earn more money over the summer with out the fear of losing it. This follows Cabinets agreement to raise the income disregard from € 4,500 to € 6,552 for the summer months. Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris says it will allow students to take up summer

A new billion euro agri-environment scheme for farmers has been proposed by the government. The plan for ‘ACRES’ is to improve biodiversity within farms, with farmers able to apply for grants of up to 10 thousand euro. However the scheme has been met with criticism from farming groups, with the IFA calling it a ‘bureaucratic