Author name: highlandnews

Sinn Fein’s proposing to cut the amount parents pay in fees for childcare by two thirds. The party’s calling on government to increase investment in the sector by a further 267 million, and bring it close to one billion euro. It says the plan, which will be debated in the Dail later, would see the […]

The new Atlantic Technological University has been officially launched today. Its the fourth TU in the State, and formally came into being on Friday last following the dissolution of Letterkenny IT, Galway-Mayo IT, and IT Sligo. The new TU will play a pivotal role in the strategic regional development of the West and North West.

  The Minister for Higher Education has reiterated that the Atlantic Technological University will become a ‘powerhouse’ in the North West. ATU will serve 21,000 students and will be one of the largest multi-campus universities in Ireland with 8 campuses, research centres and iHubs. The university will be supported by 2,250 staff, delivering practice-oriented study

  The Agriculture Minister says the Taoiseach is clear as it relates to the issues with the Mica Redress Scheme and wants to see homes fixed. Minister Charlie McConalogue says Michael Martin is impatient to see that happen. Michael Martin met with the Mica Action Group at the weekend. Speaking on the Nine Till Noon

  The Foreign Affairs Minister says the housing of Ukrainian refugees, is going to put Irish society under pressure. Already 18 thousand refugees have arrived here and the process of moving people into accommodation pledged by Irish people is underway. However concern has been expressed about how Ireland will be able to accommodate those fleeing

  It’s hoped that the Taoiseach relays a number of recommendations to the Housing Minister following a key weekend meeting with the Mica Action Group. Michael Martin met with the group on Saturday during his visit to Donegal, where members called for some amendments to the enhanced Mica Redress Scheme. The slow nature of the

The Children’s Minister has announced a free book bag scheme for children who are starting school in September. More than 60,000 kids are eligible, and the project is being run out of the 330 libraries around the country. The bag contains five books, as well as an invite to join the library so they can

The official launch of the Atlantic Technological University take place this morning with events at the campuses in Letterkenny, Sligo. Galway and Castlebar. Higher Education Minister Simon Harris will be in Sligo, and the events in all four campuses will be linked online. Dr Sean Duffy was Executive Lead of the Connaught Ulster Alliance, which

A West Donegal Councillor says Irish Water have questions to answer about fire hydrants in West Donegal, following reports that some hydrants were inaccessible to Fire Service personnel when they were fighting a blaze at a thatched cottage in Mullaghduff on Saturday. Cllr Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig says it’s not the first time questions

A thatched cottage caught fire in Mullaghduff yesterday afternoon, with the local community and the fire service being praised for their quick response. Cllr Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says there was a lining of corrugated tin underneath the straw, and had that not been there, the damage to the house would have been much substantial………

More than 2 million forms have been sent to homes, hotels, hospitals and other accommodation, as Census 2022 gets underway. Every person’s required to be included on a form, if they’re at an address between 9pm tonight and 7am tomorrow. Any household that has not yet received a Census form should contact the CSO, with

Sinn Fein is the most popular single party in the nation. Mary Lou McDonald’s opposition group is on 33 percent support according to the Ireland Thinks poll for the Sunday Independent. Fine Gael follows on 22pc with fellow Government parties Fianna Fail and the Greens on 18pc and 3pc respectively. Irish Independent Political Correspondent Hugh

Roughly forty-five-thousand recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be moved to jobseeker’s benefit from Tuesday. The PUP scheme was first introduced in March 2020 in response to the initial Covid-19 lockdown – and the last payment was made earlier this week. Nine billion euro was handed out to those affected by the pandemic through

Dublin Airport Authority says “simply bringing in bodies” isn’t enough to tackle its staffing crisis. Ryanair has called for the army to brought in to help deal with long delays at security. Up to 300 new staff are needed, and passengers are being advised to arrive three and a half hours before their flights at

It’s feared the government’s 200 euro energy grant won’t cover the cost of even one energy bill, after a further week of electricity and gas price hikes. Yesterday, SSE Airtricity was the latest supplier to announce an increase in energy prices. From Monday, households are due to begin receiving a 200 euro credit to contribute

The Taoiseach says the Irish government’s relationship with Britain and the North continues to be ‘strained’, due to Brexit. He attended a peace-building event in Derry last night, organised by the Hume Foundation. He’s calling for concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol to be resolved peacefully – saying no purpose is served by violence. The

The building housing the old officer’s mess in the former Army Barracks at Lifford is to have a plaque reinstated naming the building “MacIntyre House”. That is honour of Captain Kevin McIntyre, who was instrumental in establishing and building up the army barracks. Captain McIntyre was also one of the founders of Highland Radio, and

An innovation and digital hub has been officially opened in Dungloe by Junior Gaeltacht Minister Jack Chambers. gteic@ Na Rosa is one 27 hubs which will be open in Gaeltacht areas by the middle of this year. The new hub has gigabyte broadband capability, as as well as meeting and video conferencing facilities, telephone kiosks,

  Potholes and poor roads are being blamed for high failure rates at some NCT centres. A third of centres across the country have more cars fail than pass on their first go. In the centre in Derrybeg here in Donegal – 10 per cent of vehicles failed for “dangerous faults”, more than twice the

A major boost is on the way for West Donegal in the form of 60 new jobs. The former Ostán Glenveigh in Gaoth Dobhair is due to undergo a major renovation and will become known as ‘The Social’. Works will see the development of boutique accommodation, restaurants, cocktail bars, live music venues, function rooms and

  Households are being advised to use their dishwasher and washing machine at night, to curb energy costs. The Government is looking at the possibility of introducing “time of day pricing”, which would see the cost per unit reduced at certain times. It comes after Electric Ireland became the latest company to announce a price

High energy prices may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for fishermen. That’s according to Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn who told the Dail that the fishing industry was in the midst of a crisis long before energy price hikes. He pressed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to follow

It’s emerged 60 workers were sent home from Killybegs port yesterday after a Danish vessel was unable to land its catch. The CEO of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association says there is genuine shock and annoyance in the port after the ship was forced to withdraw due to a rule introduced in recent

The Taoiseach says he will pursue school transport issues that are facing children affected by Mica. Some families have had to live elsewhere as their Mica homes are either unfit to live in or being fixed. Speaking in the Dail, Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle says Education Minister committed to scheme flexibility but Bus Eireann are