Author name: highlandnews

    Couples are being forced to pretend to be separated to stay on the social housing list. Cllr Jimmy Brogan says more flexibility is needed in the criteria for council housing, warning that people on minimum wage are being removed and effectively punished. Council officials say the Department is reviewing the Social Housing Income […]

The Assembly at Stormont was recalled this week to discuss a U-turn from Education Minister, Paul Givan, and Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, on the status of summer schemes for children with Special Educational Needs. An announcement last week confirmed that the schemes would not be taking place this year; however, this was quickly changed following

Cllr Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig has put forward a motion calling on Donegal County Council to promote the Irish language in its daily operations. The proposal aims to normalise Irish as a living working language within the organisation. It includes a plan to hold at least three full Council meetings each year through Irish,

Gardaí are investigating the theft of a wallet from a lorry in the early hours of Saturday morning on Letterkenny’s Neil T Blaney Road. At approximately 3.40am, a delivery driver was unloading the lorry at a business when he noticed the driver’s door had been opened and his wallet stolen from the cab while he

  The State will pay the cost of ‘blister packs’ for vulnerable patients from the 1st of June. Other patients will face fees set by individual pharmacists for the service, but the practise is being encouraged as a ‘last resort’. It follows months of talks with the Irish Pharmacy Union, after changes initially planned for

  Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris TD has welcomed the agreement secured at European level on additional mackerel landings, worth an estimated €32 million to Ireland’s coastal and fishing communities. It follows discussions at an Agrifish meeting in Brussels, attended by Ministers Timmy Dooley and Martin Heydon. Donegal Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher

  The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency session on the killing of three peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon. It comes as Israel expands it’s invasion of the region, with evacuation orders for six new villages. Minister for Defence Helen McEntee says Irish peacekeepers in the region are safe and accounted for but the

Cllr Fionán Bradley has called on the HSE, HIQA, and the Department of Health to address the suffering caused by the partial closure of Buncrana Community Hospital. A motion has passed asking that work begins immediately on community hospitals in the county under the Capital Plan and to see a letter sent to the Area

Expressions of interest have opened for a new PEACEPLUS funded programme aimed at helping manufacturing SMEs. These are available through datumdigital.org and is being managed by Irish Manufacturing Research and Queen’s University Belfast. Robert Brennan is Smart Industry Advisor at Irish Manufacturing Research:

A new agreement announced today is set to benefit Irish fishers and has been welcomed by the Seafood Ireland Alliance. Agreed by Minister of the Marine Timmy Dooley and the EU Agrifish Council today has seen a re-balancing of Ireland’s mackerel quota. 8,000 tonnes has now been made available to fish which equates to €32m.

The previous Donegal–Dublin PSO flight schedule has ended, with a new timetable now in place. It means the midday flight, used by many for essential same-day medical travel, is no longer available. Now, those travelling to the capital for treatment such as chemotherapy are faced with an approximately eight-hour round trip or the financial burden

Cllr Pauric McGarvey has shared his frustration after dog waste left on Rathmullan Beach over the weekend. A number of photos were sent to him of bags of foul there were not disposed of properly. The issue has been referred to the council’s Environment Section to explore ways to prevent and police it. Cllt McGarvey

The government is being warned if the previous Donegal Dublin flight schedule doesn’t get restored in the coming days, people will take to the streets of Dublin. The previous Donegal–Dublin PSO flight schedule has ended, with a new timetable now in place. It means the midday flight, used by many for essential same-day medical travel,

Issues surrounding a lack of public toilets in Letterkenny are soon to end. According to Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh new public toilets are set to be opened at Letterkenny Retail Park in the next few weeks. On today’s Greg Hughes Show he explained the timeframe with an expected opening date of 17 April:

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has launched of its new “County Data Dashboards”. The dashboard offers comprehensive, current datasets for Donegal and the other seven counties in the region. Economist John Daly said they embarked on the project to address whatc he says has been the long-standing challenge of limited access to timely county-level

567 admitted patients were awaiting beds in hospitals across the country this morning, 89 of them in the North West. INMO figures show there were 100 at University Hospital Limerick, the largest figure in the country. That was followed by Sligo with 49 and Letterkenny with 40. Letterkenny and Sligo regularly have between 15 and

The campaign for new signage and speed ramps on the R236 into St Johnston has been highlighted following another collision at the spot where two young Derry men lost their lives last month. Local garage owner Raymond McDaid says he is called to clear vehicles from the ditch there at least once a month, and

Donegal County Council has agreed to draft a letter, to be signed by the Chief Executive, Director of Housing and all councillors, urging Housing Minister James Brown to reverse his decision to reject funding for modular homes in Donegal during the remediation of social housing. Cllr Brian Carr said that, given the scale of the

New short-term letting rules, affecting platforms like Airbnb, are set to begin in just eight weeks – but there’s still confusion over planning permission. The scheme will assign each property a unique number for platforms like Airbnb and booking.com, aimed at improving transparency. However, Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is calling for planning permission

Labour is urging the Government to rule out allowing landlords to rent out modular units in back gardens. The party’s housing spokesperson warns “beds in sheds” is not a solution to the housing crisis. Homeowners would be allowed build modular units of up to 45 square metres in their back garden, and potentially earn 14

The leader of the DUP says police warnings about a lack of resources to tackle violence against women “cannot be ignored”. Gavin Robinson has been speaking after two recent killings and a major conviction in the North. On Friday night, people gathered for a vigil at the Guildhall in Derry, hours after a man appeared

Concerns have been raised over Letterkenny University Hospital’s new surgical hub being used as an overflow for the main hospital. Cllr Gary Doherty asked for specific safeguards at meeting of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum this week. The HSE say that the new hub will be self-contained with a physical barrier to the main hospital.