Author name: highlandnews

The government will bring forward a counter-motion today to a Sinn Féin proposal for an emergency budget. The Dáil will debate whether there should be an immediate intervention on the cost of living, before the summer recess. The government will insist on waiting until October’s budget for further measures. Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson, Donegal Deputy

British MPs have voted to scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The UK government won a vote on its bill in the House of Commons last night – by a margin of 74. It was the second reading of the legislation, meaning it has cleared its first hurdle in parliament. But MEP Barry Andrews

There have been calls for clarity from Government regarding the proposed N2-A5 road project. The project, which has been in the works for fifteen years, was set to begin in the period between 2021 and 2026, with over 1 billion euro required for completion of phase 1. However according to local Cllr Albert Doherty, the

  The government should take advantage of nervousness in the market by buying up homes planned by private developers. That’s according to Sinn Féin’s Housing spokesperson after the latest daft.ie report found house prices increased by almost 4 per cent nationwide from March to June. That report also found that property prices in Donegal have

There’s urgent calls for clarity on a draft unpublished National Cardiac Review which if sanctioned would have huge ramifications for the North West. There’s plans for numerous centres of excellence and secondary centres in other parts of the country however, in terms of Letterkenny and Sligo there are no plans for any services which will

A Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish has washed up on a Donegal beach. The discovery of the creature known for its painful sting was made at Narin last Sunday. Dave Wall, Citizen Science Officer at the National Biodiversity Data Centre says the number of Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish in Ireland is on the rise:

Tributes have been paid to Fr Brian Quinn. The well-known priest, who was Parish priest of the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Letterkenny passed away at the weekend, aged 64. A native of Laghey, he recently celebrated 40 years in the priesthood. Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian on today’s Nine til Noon Show says Fr

There have been 32 more deaths on the road this year compared to the same time last year. 83 people have been killed on the country’s roads so far in 2022. The gardai are unveiling a #Slow Down social media campaign today, to highlight the importance of slowing down and driving carefully. The Buncrana Roads

The allocation of replacement resources for Gardai in West Donegal has been widely welcomed. It emerged last week that Falcarragh was left without a patrol car as the vehicle had reached end of life while the Dunfanaghy and Creeslough areas were without a car for the last 8 months. It’s now been confirmed that a

House prices in Donegal continue to rise. The latest Daft.ie report shows that the average cost of a house in the county is now just over €199,750, up 19% from this time last year. The number of new home transactions in Donegal has also increased by 19% to 76. Nationally, asking prices rose by 9.5%

A number of revelations at the Oireachtas Housing Committee last week have been described as a “scandal”. Consultant Engineer Aidan O’Connell claimed that some quarries in other parts of the country are knowingly producing unsatisfactory building materials. He also claimed some quarries were doing “side deals” with affected homeowners to keep the matter private. PRO

A proposed floating wind farm off the coast of Donegal has the potential to be a ‘game changer’ for the entire county. That’s the view of the CEO of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation who has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hexicon to advance the project. The wind farm will be constructed over 50km off

A proposed law by the British Government, which would remove parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, is due before the House of Commons again today. The EU has restarted legal action against the UK, after the bill was first introduced in Westminster by the British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss two weeks ago. Taoiseach Michael Martin

The HSE and other state-funded bodies have more than 700 professional posts that remain unfilled. It’s directly affecting children with disabilities who are losing out on 480,000 hours of treatment. Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane says recruitment issues and a lack of training have left tens of thousands of children on waiting lists around

Sinn Fein is continuing to push for an emergency budget ahead of a vote on Tuesday evening. The package would include measures to help low and middle income earners deal with rising prices across the board. The Government is opposing the motion as it believes the cost of living crisis can’t be comprehensively addressed any

Rural Ireland is being left behind by a Dublin-centric approach taken by successive Transport Ministers. That’s the view of Fine Gael MEP Colm Markey. It’s after the ESRI found increased costs of some transport modes are contributing to a higher rate of inflation amongst rural households. Midlands North-West MEP Colm Markey says there needs to

A Donegal Deputy says he doesn’t believe the revised defective blocks bill proposed by Government will solve homeowners’ problems. Independent TD Thomas Pringle was one of those who attended the Oireachtas Housing Committee Meeting regarding the new bill earlier this week – where homeowners, industry experts and representatives from the Housing Department were grilled on

Dublin Airport say they expect to be able to cope with the large numbers of passengers passing through the airport this weekend. It’s the airport’s busiest weekend since before the pandemic. More than 200-thousand people are expected to depart from the airport between now and Monday. Media Relations Managers with the DAA Graeme McQueen, said

Thousands of people are due to attend the Pride Parade in Dublin in the coming hours. Dublin’s hosting the first major national Pride event since before the pandemic today. Aifric Ní Críodan is marching with youth support service Shoutout. She says this is a very important day for young LGBTQ-plus people who are at their

Abortion clinics have begun closing in parts of America – after the US Supreme Court removed women’s constitutional right to the procedure. Justices overturned a case from 1973 which legalised procedures across the country. In a number of states, the ruling triggers immediate bans on terminations. Meanwhile the Labour Leader here says the lives and

Pauline Tully says that her ex-husband should have spent longer in prison for stabbing her. Strabane man Pearse McAuley has walked free from prison after spending 7 years of a 12 year sentence – with 4 years of that suspended – behind bars. He stabbed Pauline Tully, now a Sinn Féin TD, 13 times in

The opening of the new Tusla offices in Donegal Town has been welcomed by their Regional Service Director. The new office accommodation is in the same building as the Primary Care Centre in Drumlonagher – and on the same site as the Donegal Town Public Services Centre. The new building will cater for Tusla Donegal’s