Author name: highlandnews

The House of Commons has heard calls for clarity on a commitment to provide £1 million for the Northlands Addiction Centre and addiction treatment provision in Derry under the New Decade New Approach Agreement. It was announced last month that the core funding for the centre was being withdrawn. It’s understood that the Northern Ireland […]

A Donegal Deputy has warned that Ireland can no longer stand back and allow what is happening in Gaza to continue. It comes as the Tanaiste has confirmed he will bring a memo to the Government on the Occupied Territories Bill next week. It will be a revised version of the original bill, which was

A Donegal County Councillor believes there’s merit in calls for holiday-home owners to be boycotted. Tom Gilligan, a Director of Services at Mayo County Council, has written to councillors, suggesting an immediate boycott as a way of potentially boosting housing supply, given the number of holiday homes that lie vacant for much of the year.

The price of homes in Donegal increased by 7% in the year to March. According to latest figures from the CSO, the median price for a property in the county as of March this year is €190,000, up from €177,000 during the same period in 2023. Nationally, house prices rose 7.5% in the 12 months

Retired Consultant Dr Peter O’Rourke is warning that increasing the number of consultant and outpatient services at Letterkenny University Hospital without more resources elsewhere in the facility runs the risk of putting further pressure on services right across the board. He told the Nine til Noon Show this morning that even though Sligo has a

The Dail has been told that the Pay and Numbers strategy is preventing the recruitment of home care workers in Donegal, and that’s  putting a serious strain on Letterkenny University Hospital. The issue was raised by Deputy Padraig Mac Lochlainn during a discussion on an Independent Ireland motion calling for a fairer funding model for

A senior local authority official is urging people to ‘boycott’ the owners of holiday homes this summer. The director of services for housing and roads at Mayo County Council emailed members of his local authority committee last week urging the community to boycott holiday home owners. Tom Gilligan, the founder of vacanthomes.ie  says the properties

A member of the Regional Health Forum West says the latest figures he’s been given show the need for a review of haematology services at Letterkenny University Hospital. along with the immediate appointment of at least one more haematologist. Cllr Declan Meehan sought details of the wait times at various hospitals across the region, and

Ireland’s Post Office network needs €15-million euro per year for the next five years to secure essential community services. A Grant Thornton report calculates the annual social and economic value of the network to communities across the country as being in the region of €776 million euro. Irish Postmasters Union President Seán Martin, says it

Marian Harkin, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, has heard of the extreme demand for dental hygienist course places. As it stands, only two courses are available at Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork. Donegal Senator Manus Boyle addressed the Minister in the Seanad yesterday, alongside Senator Gareth Scahill Senator Boyle suggested that

Chief Whip Mary Butler has told the Dail the Programme for Government is open and transparent. She was responding to Donegal TD and Sinn Fein whip Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn, who was calling for a special Dail debate on an interview given by Michael Lowry to a Sunday newspaper, during which he outlined the access he

Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has been elected Vice Chair of the new Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs. He says the Committee has been formed at a critical time and has a huge role to play. Deputy Gallagher says massive challenges remain with Brexit continuing to have a negative impact on the

Gardaí have warned that there has been increase in the number of reports of quads being driven by children and youths in West Donegal, in recent months. They say in a number of incidents, the quads are being driven in an erratic and dangerous manner. Parents particularly, are being urged to never allow a child

Gardaí in Donegal have described as worrying the fact that 18 people have been arrested in the county over the past week for driving under the influence. 13 motorists were arrested for drink driving and 5 for drug driving. Garda Shaun Sweeney says, despite repeated appeals to never drive while under the influence, the message

Carndonagh Day Care Centre has officially reopened today. There has been a lengthy campaign to reopen the facility following its closure during the pandemic. The centre was reopened on a trial basis, providing services for older people two days a week. Frank Morrisson, Head of Older Person Services with the HSE confirmed on today’s Nine

The Tanaiste admits children are waiting too long for an assessment of needs. 15 thousand children are currently waiting over six months for an assessment. That figure could rise to 25 thousand by the end of the year according to the HSE. Autism campaigner Cara Darmody is beginning a 50 hour protest outside the Dail

A Letterkenny Councillor says the number of vacant houses in Letterkenny is unacceptable when families in the town are receiving eviction notices. Cllr Tomas Sean Devine says Donegal County Council must write to the Department of Housing for emergency funding to purchase such homes to relieve the housing pressures faced locally. He says housing demand

The official opening of the new EY office in the Ebrington Plaza in Derry will take place later this morning. The company is one of the ‘big four’ accounting firms across the world. The opening ceremony was attended by Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. The EY Northern Ireland

The Minister for Rural and Community Development has come under fire for putting Inishowen on the long finger concerning accessing the CLAR programme. The initiative is a targeted investment programme for rural areas that aims to provide funding for small infrastructural projects in areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation. The Inishowen Municipal District

Britain’s agreed on what’s being described as a ‘landmark’ deal with the EU. The two sides announced details of the agreement at the first summit of its kind in London since Brexit. It will see European fishing access to UK waters for another 12 years, while barriers to food and drink trade are being reduced.