The county is served by an excellent health service throughout the county. The major hospital in the county is Letterkenny General Hospital which operates in tandem with the eleven community based hospitals which provide locally based healthcare for older people and other groups. These are located in Carndonagh, Ballyshannon, Lifford, Donegal Town, Dungloe, Buncrana, Falcarragh, Ramelton, Stranorlar and Killybegs.
There are a total of 174 primary schools in Donegal and over 800 primary teachers. Of the 174 primary schools there are three Gaelscoileanna situated outside the official Gaeltacht area.
There are 25 post-primary schools inn the county which are broken down into three types – secondary, vocational and community. Over 12,000 pupils attend these schools.
Letterkenny Institute of Technology is a third level institution serving Donegal and the North West of Ireland. The Institute awards Higher Certificates, Bachelor Degrees and Honours Degrees in Business, Computing, Design, Engineering, Nursing and Science. The Institute also offers tuition and research to Master's Degree level.
The Business Development Centre opened in July 2000. It's mission is to stimulate innovation and nurture the growth of knowledge based business in the region. The "BDC" will provide flexible space arrangements from which to grow or develop new products or services. The "BDC" offers campus based incubation facilities to start-up companies, facilities for industrial research and commercial services to local industry.
The "BDC" seeks to provide a development environment, which incubates business projects in a pro-active environment. The occupants of the "BDC" will consist of projects with a technology / IT / knowledge base, developing new / innovative products or services that have a potential for growth in employment and revenue. The Business Development Centre acts as the focal point for linking the expertise and resources of Letterkenny Institute of Technology with the development needs of the commercial sector and the wider community in the region.
Donegal has a rich and varied cultural inheritance. The county is well know for its many national and international musicians and singers, dancers and performers – Clannad, Altan, Cathal O Searcaigh, Enya, Triona Ui Dhomhnaill ,Daniel O Donnell and the legendary traditional fiddle player Johnny Doherty , to name but a few.
Our annual Erigal Arts Festival is one of the most exciting and all-embracing arts festival in Ireland running over a two week period each summer and includes indoor and outdoor performances in all areas of the Arts.
The county has the largest Gaeltacht area in Ireland where the Irish language, traditions and customs are still alive and vibrant. The Irish language, one of the oldest literary languages in Europe, is a language which expresses a vibrant identity. The Gaeltacht also provides a range of summer and year-round courses to individuals and groups to learn and speak Irish. The county has 12 recognised language summer schools which attract thousands of students from all over Ireland and from overseas.