Author name: highlandnews

There’s calls for a special meeting to be held to discuss the future of cardiology services at Letterkenny University Hospital. It follows confirmation that the weekly angiogram service will no longer be provided at the hospital as of the end of June. Councillor Ciaran Brogan has also expressed concerns that the cardiac cath lab, is […]

A Donegal Deputy believes the proposal to ban turf was handled badly by Government. Deputy Joe McHugh along with fellow Fine Gael and Fianna Fail backbenchers voted against a Sinn Fein motion for the turf ban to be scrapped and instead supported a counter motion that no changes be made to the sale and supply

It’s emerged that two Killybegs fish processors have had their in-factory weighing permits suspended by the SFPA. The action was taken on foot of Norwegian vessels, as a result of not landing their blue whiting catch at Killybegs, landing it instead in Derry and transporting it to the harbour via trucks. It’s claimed the SFPA

The Taoiseach has praised the North West Regional Development Group which encompasses members from Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council. Michael Martin was responding in the Dail to questions about support for City of Derry Airport, and whether or not the Shared Island Initiative council could be used to provide funding

The Government has lost control of the cost of living. That’s according to Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty who last evening hit out at Minister of State Sean Fleming, claiming he was talking through his hat. Deputy Doherty called for a suite of measures to be rolled out to tackle inflation as opposed to introducing a

The Passport Office investigated over 3,500 cases of suspected passport fraud in the space of three years. 119 cases were passed on to the gardai between 2019 and 2021. According to freedom of information figures, 130 passports were cancelled due to fraud during this period. Barrister Morgan Shelley says the crime is often carried out

The government last night survived a Dáil vote to scrap an upcoming ban on the commercial sale of turf. Sinn Fein’s motion also called for the upcoming carbon tax increase to be abandoned and for the temporary removal of excise duty on home heating oil. Rural TDs in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael voted with

A Donegal Councillor says while the money announced on Monday for a number of pier developments in Donegal is to be welcomed, there are a lot of small piers in the west of the county where very important work could be done for relatively small sums of money. Cllr Michael Colm MacGiolla Easbuig says the

The newly appointed CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation say as the blue whiting season comes to an end, the weighing debacle must be addressed urgently, or displacement of supply could result in the loss of up to €40 Million annually. Aodh O’Donnell is in Europe for a series of meetings with MEPs and

The Taoiseach has praised the North West Regional Development Group which encompasses members from Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council. Michael Martin was responding in the Dail to questions about support for City of Derry Airport, and whether or not the Shared Island Initiative council be used to provide funding for

The Taoiseach says he wants the government and the fishing industry to work together to forge stronger relationships with the EU Commission. Michael Martin was responding to Donegal Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn, the Sinn Fein Marine Spokesperson, who raised the latest incident in Killybegs which saw 100,000 tonnes of blue whiting lost to a local factory

The Disabilities Minister has heard urgent calls for the National Traveller Mental Health Strategy to be published. Donegal Senator Eileen Flynn told the Seanad that it is a matter of life and death with 82% of Travellers affected by suicide. It was previously agreed that such a strategy would be put in place. Senator Flynn

The SFPA has warned that all landings at Killybegs will have to be weighed at the pier side unless the current control plan in place is adhered to. There has been much controversy in recent weeks as many fishermen have left the harbour with a full catch due to rules being enforced by the regulator

Taoiseach Michael Martin has told the Dail he believes health services in border areas should be organised on a regional basis, and Donegal patients should be looking towards Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry rather than Galway. He said joint initiatives such as the North West Cancer Centre have been very successful, and the challenge will be

A Donegal Deputy has described the lack of infrastructure in the North West as a ‘mortal sin’. Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn believes due to the abscence of a rail network and continued delays with the A5 road project that the Irish Government should reinstate financial support for the City of Derry Airport. The Government had previously

A delegation of Fishing Industry representatives arrives in Brussels today to discuss a number of pressing issues concerning fishing activities in Killybegs, and in particular, claims that EU regulations on the weighing of fish means some are being rendered unfit for human consumption. The delegation will meet with members of the European Parliament and senior

People in Inch are without water yet again. A burst water main is affecting homes and businesses in the area which has been subject to ongoing bursts. It was hoped that a resolution was on the way with Irish Water committing to carry out replacement works this week. However, the works have been delayed by

Technology platform company Pangea is to make the new gteic digital hub in Dungloe its new EU base. The company already has some staff working at the site, with plans to triple numbers over the next two years. The Chief Executive of Udaras na Gaeltachta, Michael Heeney says the announcement is a vindication of the

The government was last night told it was losing significant support in rural Ireland over the turf row. It came during a debate on a Sinn Féin motion, which called for a ban on the sale of turf to be scrapped. The government intends introducing the new rule in September – except in small rural

An exhibition of archives related to the treaty is coming to Donegal. The ‘Treaty 1921: Records from the Archives’ exhibition will open at Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny on Thursday May 5th, where it will stay until the 31 May. The exhibition uses press cuttings, documents and other media to place the Treaty negotiations in

A Donegal Garda has described scenes in Letterkenny on Saturday night as ‘horrific’ following the broadcasting of a major sporting event. A number of fights are believed to have broken out in the Main Street area following the Tyson -v- Whyte fight. As a result, Gardai are warning people of the dangers of one punch

Investigations are ongoing into a hit and run in Letterkenny on Sunday night last. A car exiting Larkins Lane was struck by an oncoming blue BMW travelling in the wrong direction on the Pearse Road. The BMW failed to remain at the scene. Garda Niall Maguire is appealing to anyone with information to contact Gardai:

An exhibition of archives related to the treaty is coming to Donegal. The ‘Treaty 1921: Records from the Archives’ exhibition will open at Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny on Thursday May 5th, where it will stay until the 31 May. The exhibition uses press cuttings, documents and other media to place the Treaty negotiations in

The fire service and local community has been praised for bringing a gorse fire under control in West Donegal. The fire broke out in the Crolly area yesterday morning, close to a number of properties. Locals were first on the scene and the blaze was eventually brought under control with the assistance of the fire

The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation is urging the European Commission to act immediately on the presence of Russian trawlers in waters off the Faroe Islands. It’s emerged a fleet of Russian freezer trawlers is operating in a zone shared between the UK and the Faroe islands. KFO Chief Executive Sean O’Donoghue says the Faroes are issuing

The SDLP has described fresh legal action on the Northern Ireland Protocol as a distraction. A group of politicians, led by Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice party, is taking a legal challenge on the post-Brexit trade agreement to the UK’s Supreme Court. They’ve been granted permission by the Court of Appeal in the