Author name: highlandnews

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

Senior ministers are today considering approving legislation on the €2.7 billion Mica redress scheme. The defective building block plan was extended to affected homeowners in Clare and Limerick last week. It’ll cover up to 100% of the costs, subject to a cap of €420,000 and up to €161 per square foot. The Taoiseach has said

It’s emerged the new Lifford Hospital will be a 25 bed unit. It was confirmed earlier this month that the facility is to be built on a greenfield site in the town. The cost and timeframe for construction of the new hospital will not be released until after the plans have been considered, accepted and

It appears Irish waters are open ground for any navy to come in and carry out naval exercises. That’s according to the CEO of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association, Brendan Byrne. It comes as a French naval exercise due to get underway this morning off the southwest coast of Ireland has withdrawn from

The rainbow flag is being flown at a number of Donegal County Council buildings this month for the first time. Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Councillor Jack Murray raised the flag yesterday at County House in Lifford and the Public Services Centre, Letterkenny for Pride month. It was on foot of a request by Councillor

HSE hospitals spent €13.6 million on private ambulance services last year. It’s an increase of 37 per cent on 2020, but the HSE says that was down to the Covid crisis. According to freedom of information figures, Lifeline Ambulance Service received €4.3 million in 2021 – the highest amount. Its chief executive, David Hall, says

Works on the Moville Community College extension project is expected to begin in the coming months. Confirmation has been granted by the Department of Education for the proposed work to progress to tender stage which will see the construction of a new build extension including a two classroom SNU base. Minister for Agriculture, Food and

  A 70 year old man with strong ties to Donegal is currently walking from Mizen to Malin to raise money for a cancer charity. Stewart Barbour, who owns a house at Lough Eske, is in the middle of walking 400 miles doing roughly 27 miles a day being looked after by strangers who give