Author name: highlandnews

  Just over 40,000 homes were passed by the end of March, under the National Broadband plan. That’s according to Sinn Fein’s spokesperson on communications, who has received updated figures from National Broadband Ireland. It shows the target for the end of the year has been reduced to 102,000 from 205,000. The company’s issued a […]

  Sinn Féin has called for a mini budget to deal with the cost of living. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that term was sloganeering and the government has already invested between one and two billion euro in measures to tackle inflation. Sinn Féin said VAT on fuel needs to be scrapped immediately – something Leo

The Government has been warned that post offices will close if post masters can’t make a living. South Donegal Deputy Marian Harkin told the Dail that post masters are concerned that in a year’s time they will no longer be in their role. Minister of State with responsibility for Transport Hildegarde Naughton says the Government

A business owner in Killybegs says the port could lose millions of euro as a result of the current controversy over the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority’s demands for strict weighing protocols. The industry claims that of fish are weighed in the way the SFPA demand, they will be left unfit for human consumption, and this

HIQA says its inspections of public hospitals will now include more focus on patient safety, including the conditions in which care is provided in Emergency Departments. HIQA has now launched its new programme of inspections, with Director of Healthcare Regulation Sean Egan saying it will assess the standard and quality of care across the Health

A Donegal Deputy says we must continue to strengthen Ireland’s military neutrality and ensure that it is not compromised. Deputy Thomas Pringle was speaking in the Dail on the country’s response to the war in Ukraine so far. Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky addressed the Oireachtas thanking Ireland for not staying neutral to his country’s

The HSE Chief says that continued reform of the health service will help to cut waiting lists. Latest figures show there are now 1.3 million people on waiting lists, with continued covid 19 surges meaning people are having to wait even longer to be seen. But Paul Reid insists that a move to community care

Donegal County Council is to put a proposed variation to the County Development Plan out to public consultation. The variation will incorporate landslide susceptibility evidence gathered in the wake of the recent Meenbog landslide. It will also ban wind farm developments in freshwater pearl mussel catchments areas around Glenveagh National Park, the Gweebarra River Basin,

The state’s capacity to house Ukrainian refugees is nearing exhaustion. A secret memo to cabinet has warned of a shortage of beds by the end of this week, and according to the Irish Independent as many as 10 thousand people fleeing the war in Ukraine will have no accommodation here by the end of this

Sinn Fein’s calling on the Health Minister to clarify the situation surrounding Dr. Tony Holohan’s new role. The Chief Medical Officer’s moving to Trinity College Dublin later this year, but his €187,000 salary will continue to be paid by the Department of Health. It has been described by the university as an “open-ended secondment” –

A Donegal Deputy has compared the situation at Killybegs Harbour to an episode of Father Ted. The port has been subject of much debate over the last week due to a number of vessels turning away over European catch weighing rules. Yesterday it emerged that one of the vessels travelled to Derry for its catch

  Listen back to the main evening news, sport and obituaries for Thursday April 6th: 

  The Restaurants Association of Ireland says the hospitality sector should be looking abroad for the solution to staff shortages. There’s an estimated 40,000 vacancies in the hospitality sector, according to Failte Ireland. The Joint Committee on Tourism has heard the conditions for granting permits to potential workers are unrealistic and damage the industry. CEO

The Ukrainian President has praised Irish support for his country, thanking people here for not staying neutral in the face of the war. Addressing a joint sitting of the Oireachtas, Volodomyr Zelensky said Russia doesn’t deserve to be in the circle of civilised countries. He asked the Irish Government to go beyond its support to

The introduction of six new Regional Health Areas has been welcomed for the North West. Yesterday, Government approved the creation of the regional health structure as part of a major reform of the health system with decision making devolved to each region. Pat Harvey is a former CEO of the North Western Health Board. He

Over 65’s and the immunocompromised are to be offered another covid 19 vaccine. NIAC has issued new advice that people in those cohorts should receive a second booster jab. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says the HSE will now work on the rollout of the latest dose for those who need it:

The latest tranche of Local Improvement Scheme funding is nowhere near enough of what is needed for Donegal. That’s according to Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig. The Department announced just over €716,000 in LIS funding yesterday for upgrade works on rural roads and laneways. It’s the third highest allocation in the country. However, Cllr MacGiolla

Yet another boat has left Killybegs without landing it’s catch. Yesterday a ship carrying 950 ton of fish turned away from the harbour in a similar manner to that experienced last week when a Danish vessel failed to land almost 1,300 ton of blue whiting due to landing rules set out by the SFPA which

The number of people in hotel employment dropped by almost 60% during the pandemic, according to the Hotels Federation. It’ll tell today’s Oireachtas Tourism Committee 65,000 were employed in 2019, but that dropped to just under 27,000 by April last year. Failte Ireland will tell TD’s and Senators there’s 40,000 job vacancies across the hospitality

Poor conditions, pensions, equipment and excessive administration are being blamed for a looming retention crisis in An Garda Siochana. It comes as nearly a quarter of Gardai who left the job in 2021 resigned rather than retired. So far this year, 25 Gardai have walked away from their posts sparking concerns about the level of

The HSE’s warning its waiting list targets may not be met this year, due to the recent hospital situation. A 350-million euro plan was recently announced, which would reduce them by 18 per cent by December. But the HSE says the recent rise in emergency department attendances, and the number of Covid patients in hospital,

The Ukrainian President will make a historic address to the joint Houses of the Oireachtas this morning. Volodymyr Zelenskyy will appear virtually before TDs and senators. Since the Russian invasion began, he has addressed the parliaments of a number of nations, including the US, Germany and the UK. The Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov,

The Central Bank has significantly scaled back its predictions for Ireland’s economy, due to the Ukraine war. It says the domestic economy will grow by 4.8% this year – compared to a prediction of over 7% in January. The bank says the war has reduced household incomes, and led to higher costs for businesses. Director

There are calls on Donegal County Council to pave the way for the construction of log cabins and modular homes in various parts of the county. It’s understood that the current County Development Plan does not permit such dwellings to be built.. It’s thought that the move would alleviate the housing crisis due to a

  Listen back to the main evening news, sport and obituaries for Tuesday March 5th: