Author name: highlandnews

The Housing Minister has confirmed that some of the regulations contained in the enhanced Mica Redress Scheme will be signed this evening. The CEO of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin told a special meeting this afternoon that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien gave assurances at a housing summit held in Dublin yesterday that the regulations around […]

The local area plan for Buncrana has been given the go ahead to progress further. The plan is to move forward in tandem with Bundoran and the Twin Towns. Cllr Rena Donaghey says it’ll mean the plan will be fast tracked by a year paving the way for lands to be zoned for housing construction.

  The HSE has given the green light for work to start on the new Dunfanaghy Primary Care Centre. The project was originally estimated to cost 2.5 million euro and its completion is set to be a major asset to the local community. The project has faced a lengthy delay. Dr Paul Stewart, a GP

Residents in a housing estate in east Donegal are said to be plagued by flooding issues. St. Judes Court in Lifford was built over 20 years ago however its understood that the road surface in the estate was never completed. As a result, many drain covers are sitting above road level with almost all of

  More than 1,200 diabetic patients are currently awaiting review appointments at Letterkenny University Hospital. Latest figures show that there are 563 review appointments with Consultants now overdue. In addition, there are 659 patients with review appointments already scheduled for 2022. Cllr Gerry McMonagle raised a number of questions regarding the matter at the latest

  A public apology to victims of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland will go ahead on the 11th of March. Plans for the long awaited apology – originally set to be delivered by the First and Deputy First Ministers – had been put into doubt since the collapse of the Executive. It’s now been

  The provision of two new multi million euro business, enterprise and innovation centres in Letterkenny is a step closer. The project under the Councils part 8 development process has been given the green light at a special meeting of the Council today. The proposed development will include the demolition of the former ESB retail

  Serious concern has been raised over reports that an 80 year old sewerage pipe is set to remain in Kerrykeel. Irish Water is currently carrying out work on a new sewerage treatment system along the main street in the village however the old pipe in question is not going to be replaced as part

  Work on a long awaited one way system in the heart of Letterkenny is to begin next month. The traffic system was first proposed in 2018 but had been stalled due to funding constraints. Donegal County Council has confirmed that the necessary funding has now been allocated with construction due to start at the

  Normal teaching and learning activities can return in schools from Monday. Last night the Department of Education issued updated guidance to principles ahead of next weeks reopening. It says class pods and bubbles will no longer be required and activities like sports, music and breakfast clubs can return, while restrictions on the use of

  The Marine Minister has given assurances that repairs works will be carried out to a pier on Arranmore Island. Fishermen on the island rely on Poolawaddy pier but the infrastructure was substantially damaged by the recent storms. The issue was raised in the Dail this week by Deputy Thomas Pringle who requested that urgent

  Donegal County Council is to liaise with gardai to ensure that people visiting tourist facilities in the county use designated parking areas, and do not park on footpaths. Cllr Paul Canning raised the issue this week, saying that there have been instances where inappropriate parking has led to cars causing considerable obstructions for visitors

A Donegal Deputy has called on the Government to resolve outstanding issues for school secretaries and caretakers. Tomorrow, school secretaries and caretakers represented by Fórsa return to talks at the Workplace Relations Commission around pay and pension arrangements for grants funded positions. Deputy Thomas Pringle in the Dail, pressed the Taoiseach to commit to resolving

A local pig farmer has described the situation facing the sector at present as the perfect storm. It is hoped that a €7 million support scheme announced yesterday will counteract some of the challenges but has been deemed as a short term fix. A maximum payment of €20,000 will be available to those affected. Speaking

The HSE says cars are parked at the owner’s risk at Letterkenny University Hospital. Councillor Albert Doherty raised concern at yesterday’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum West after damage was caused to a number of vehicles parked at the hospital. In one case €2,500 worth of damage was caused to a car belonging to

North of the border, Covid is still wreaking havoc on health services. Over 60 patients were waiting for beds at Antrim Area Hospital yesterday, as a potential major incident was declared and later stood down: Over 600 Northern Trust staff are currently absent, Treatments for sick people have been delayed, and bed capacity is still

Fuel prices could reach more than 2 euro a litre at garage forecourts in a matter of weeks, according to the head of an Irish fossil fuel exploration company. The suspension of the Nordstream 2 pipeline along with international tensions around the situation in Ukraine will likely fuel further inflation. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said

  A €7 million support scheme for pig farmers has been announced by Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue. The scheme has been described as an urgent short-term response to the challenges currently facing the sector. A maximum payment of €20,000 will be available for farmers. Minister Charlie McConalogue hopes the funding will in some way help

  The Dail has heard that Mica homeowners were fearful of what they would wake up to in the midst of adverse weather conditions that battered Donegal over the past week. Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty pressed Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath on when homeowners would see the enhanced redress scheme rolled out.

There were nearly 7,600 reports of assaults on HSE staff last year. Over 5,800 were physical, while 41 were sexual and nearly 1,700 were verbal. According to freedom of information figures, almost half of the victims were nurses. Phil Ni Sheaghdha from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, says it’s a very serious problem.

  The Taoiseach has ruled out the idea of deferring a planned rise in the carbon tax. He was speaking as the Dáil debated a motion from Sinn Féin last night calling for the planned rises this year to be deferred. Micheál Martin has warned fuel costs are likely to increase again as a result

The Dail will later hear calls for the introduction of a mini budget to address the rising cost of living. The Rural Independent Group, which’s bringing the motion, says the issue’s now a national emergency that requires comprehensive action. Among the measures being demanded are a 20 euro increase to social welfare payments, a 50

A Donegal Deputy has called on the Government to publish the report on post office offline services. Deputy Thomas Pringle told the Dail that following a meeting with postmasters in Donegal, that they are waiting anxiously for the publication of the interdepartmental group report. He says postmasters are feeling disregarded by Government: Minister for Public

  Donegal County Council is to seek additional funding for a special programme to drain and clean water tables along the county’s roads. The issue was raised by Cllr Donal Coyle, who said the council should also liaise with Transport Infrastructure Ireland regarding roads under the remit of T.I.I. Officials say there is already substantial

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has accused Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty of being ‘duplicitous’. There were heated exchanges in the Dail this afternoon after the Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson once again called on the Government to tackle the rising costs of living. Deputy Doherty told the Government that ‘talk is cheap’:   Minister

The Children’s Rights Alliance has warned that immediate action is needed to tackle family homelessness. The group has today published it’s Report Card awarding the Government an E grade over child homelessness. Latest figures from the Department of Housing show that in the North West, 7 families were homeless in December. 10 of them children.

The Health Minister says the HSE needs to be pushed out of its comfort zone in order to tackle hospital waiting lists. A 350 million euro plan to reduce hospital waiting lists will be published later this week. Currently, almost 18 thousand people have been waiting for an inpatient procedure for more than 12 months,

Meanwhile, Gardaí are appealing for information in relation to the theft of a 10 foot Hudson builder’s trailer that was stolen from a house in Sessiagh Park, Castlefin on Thursday last. Garda Grainne Doherty says they have CCTV footage, but are appealing for more help………

The Irish Cancer Society’s Head of Research says two projects being supported at Letterkenny University Hospital will have long term benefits for people being treated for cancer, and also those whose treatment has finished. Dr Robert O’Connor was speaking ahead of a public conference in Letterkenny this weekend being organised by Donegal Relay for Life