By Sabrina Sweeney
NEW Year’s Day has a curious quality to it. It’s reflective, asking us to look in two directions at once – back at what we’ve lived through and forward to what we hope might be possible.
It’s a day when the pace slows, even briefly, and there’s space to think about not just what happened, but why it’s stayed with us.
For me, one of the most persistent and troubling threads running through the past year has been the toll on our roads. There’ve been too many deaths and too many lives altered suddenly and violently.
Each road death statistic carries a future lost, a family devastated, and a community left trying to make sense of something that never should have happened.
But often overlooked are the wider ramifications of serious collisions and the many people who survive but live with life-altering injuries.
Lives reshaped by chronic pain, disability, trauma and lost independence. Families quietly reorganised around care, appointments and limits that weren’t there before. These, too, are futures changed forever.
Fatality figures are what drive road safety messaging but it’s vital we don’t dismiss the long trail of harm that follows every serious accident.
Looking back on 2025, it’s clear this is not an issue that can be addressed through slogans or seasonal campaigns. It demands joined-up thinking: infrastructure improvements where roads are no longer fit for volume or speed, consistent and visible Garda enforcement, and, uncomfortably but necessarily, a renewed focus on personal responsibility behind the wheel.
Speeding, distraction and impatience are not abstract risks, but choices that all drivers make, which carry consequences that last a lifetime.
Another issue that repeatedly surfaced over the year was the pressure on mental health services in Donegal. Access remains patchy while waiting lists are too long, and too many people only encounter support when they are already in crisis.
This is not a new problem, but it remains unresolved as we move into 2026.
Closely linked to this is domestic violence, an issue that continues to require sustained attention, resources and political will. It is present in every county and every community, and its impact extends far beyond individual households.
Progress depends on more than statements of concern; it requires properly funded services, effective enforcement, and systems that prioritise safety for all involved, including children, who often bear the brunt of disconnected and out-dated policies.
Looking back over the year, there has also been important progress worth acknowledging. Developments at Letterkenny University Hospital, including the decision to proceed with a new surgical hub and associated funding, represent meaningful investment in local healthcare and will make a real difference to patients and staff alike.
At the same time, pressures on Accident and Emergency departments and long waiting lists remain a source of frustration and anxiety for many families. Both realities exist side by side as we enter the year ahead.
Indeed there are countless other issues that will demand attention in 2026 – housing, infrastructure, disability services, rural isolation, cost of living pressures, to name just a few.
This column doesn’t have the space to catalogue them all, and listing problems is rarely as useful as examining a smaller number in detail.
What does matter, though, is accountability. Staying informed, asking questions, and keeping pressure on those in positions of power will remain vitally important in 2026, particularly when decisions are being made by both elected and unelected figures with real consequences for everyday life.
That’s why the fact that the new Community Safety Partnerships may not operate with the same level of openness as the Joint Policing Committees they are replacing is concerning for all. As a society, Ireland knows all too well that when important discussions and decisions are made without the public’s full knowledge or understanding, it limits meaningful scrutiny and undermines trust.
In the past it has also had painful consequences.
For journalists, such an environment presents an ongoing challenge and a responsibility. If doors close, we have to find other ways in.
If processes become less visible, we have to work harder to bring them into public view.
Keeping these and other issues in the public discourse, and opening them up to debate, is something I intend to keep doing in the year ahead.
