Ocean FM News Reports

Sligo Rovers will be hosting a sleep-out next month in a bid to raise funds to combat homelessness. The Shine A Light campaign, which will take place on October 11th, will run in conjunction with Focus Ireland. According to latest figures there are 76 adults homeless in Sligo and 48 children without a home in the Northwest region. Football Social Responsibility officer with Sligo Rovers, Jamie Mur...

A Sligo-Leitrim TD has welcomed the latest electricity cuts but stressed that plenty still needs to be done to tackle the cost of living crisis. Electric Ireland announced today that it will provide customers with reductions in electricity and gas of 3%, amounting to €45 and €40 in savings annually respectively. While the company will also absorb an increase in network charges, which would have am...

A Donegal Cllr has made a public appeal for all landowners to take ownership of hedge-cutting issues within the county. This is following a warning from a local bus service that said it may halt operating along certain routes until hedges have been cut back. There are also major safety concerns over the lack of maintenance, as some motorists veer on to the far side of the road to avoid the bushes....

There's been a mixed reaction to extra Garda patrols and checkpoints to be rolled out in County Leitrim.   It's in the wake of a spike in crime across the County, namely burglaries and theft.   A countywide operation is to be initiated in the coming days as part of Operation Thor.   Sinn Fein Cllr Padraig Fallon says while it will provide some reassurance to local communities, it's...

There's big concern over a lack of manpower at Manorhamilton Garda Station.   It follows what's been described as a very serious incident in the town last week.   When help was sought, it emerged that the local Garda station was closed as Gardai were in attendance at another incident.   It's thought that there's only a maximum of two personnel attached to the station in Manorhamilto...

Passengers travelling through Ireland West Airport are said to be adapting well to new security regulations introduced earlier this week.   Since Sunday, temporary liquid restrictions at airports in the EU were reintroduced, meaning passengers are not permitted to carry liquids, aerosols and gels in containers greater than 100ml in their cabin baggage through airport security.   They mus...

The recent closure of the Pain Clinic in Sligo is said to be having an impact on not only the patients who had been using it, but also on the public purse.   Since June, the clinic is no longer taking new referrals and is now effectively reduced to a partial one day a week clinic which is due to finish within a few months.   According to local Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Healy, its closure is...

There's hopes that the National Trail Conference can return to the North West again. The conference, which was held over the weekend and ran until Tuesday in Leitrim, was the first of it's kind to be held in Ireland. A number of events took place throughout, showcasing what Ireland has to offer in terms of adventure tourism, and over 2,000 people attended over the course of four days. Head of Stra...

The Irish Medical Organisation have warned that the health system is at a critical juncture as it faces a worsening crisis. The IMO launched their pre-budget submission today and called for urgent action on funding, capacity and workforce planning. Hospitals have faced long-standing issues in relation to waiting lists, staffing and access to GPs and other services. IMO President and Donegal-based...

There will be no train service between Sligo and Mullingar on Saturday September 7th, and will be replaced by a bus transfer.   While the train is available from Mullingar to Dublin, engineering works are to take place along the rail line, with bus services operating along the route instead.   The only services to not be available on Saturday are the 16.00 Connolly to Sligo, and the 16.5...

Victim advocacy groups want the Commission of Investigation into reports of historic sexual abuse at some religious schools to be carried out in an 'expedient' and 'victim centred manner'.   A statutory inquiry has been ordered after almost 2 thousand 400 allegations involving 8 hundred and 84 alleged abusers were made to a scoping inquiry.   They included over 300 schools spanning a 30...

Members of the Donegal Municipal District have had what's been described as a worthwhile meeting with Uisce Eireann.   The meeting was held to discuss a number of water issues affecting the wider south Donegal area.   This is the first in a series of similar discussions planned between Uisce Eireann and local representatives, following numerous complaints that the utility has been found...

Calls have been made from Sligo for church assets to be seized and be put towards a redress scheme for the survivors of reported historic sexual abuse at a number of religious schools.   A scoping inquiry report, published yesterday, included St. John's National School in Sligo, which had 20 allegations with 10 alleged abusers while De La Salle National School in Manorhamilton is also named i...

After many agonising months, High Street in Sligo has fully reopened.   Demolition works had been taking place on a number of derelict buildings in the area, which resulted in severe restrictions to both pedestrians and traffic.   The works are now finished.   Businesses along the street had also experienced a major loss in revenue.   Rosaleen Doonan of Like Nu Dry Cleaners say...

A Sligo Cllr has written to Justice Minister Helen McEntee over issues that came to light in relation to the ticket pricing of the upcoming Oasis concerts.   Labour Cllr Nessa Cosgrove along with nine other party Cllrs hope to have a meeting with the minister with the goal of preventing dynamic pricing.   Many complaints were raised when some standing tickets for the Croke Park gigs, whi...

The Government has come in for further criticism over the bike shelter constructed at Leinster House.   An immediate review into the costs associated with the construction of the over €330 thousand euro shelter has been requested by the Minister of State with responsibility of Office Public Works.   The huge bill has raised eyebrows both locally and nationally, but the OPW had said a hig...

It's emerged that the north west recorded the highest amount of rainfall throughout the month of August. 181.3 mm and 29 days of rainfall was recorded at Malin Head throughout the month, making its wettest August on record. Figures published in Met Éireann's Climate Statement for August also show that temperatures were coolest in the west and north west. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Climatologist wi...

There's calls for a Family Resource Centre to be established in North Leitrim.   It's thought that the area meets all the relevant criteria.   Such a centre provides a range of universal and targeted services and development opportunities that address the needs of families.   Cllr James Gilmartin believes that both the Government and Tusla can and should make this happen:  

A potential scheme to introduce free mole mapping to combat skin cancer has been widely criticised. Earlier this week, Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O'Sullivan suggested the plans, saying that it had the potential to save lives in the long term. However, it's widely felt that the scheme couldn't possibly work in Ireland, given that it has never been implemented in any other country, and logistically...

The public are being taken for a ride over the bike shelter controversy.   That's according to Sinn Feins Finance Spokesperson and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty, who has been speaking following confirmation that a full review is to be carried out into why it cost over 300 thousand euro to build the shelter in Leinster House.   The Minister for the OPW has asked for an analysis of the costs o...

The Leitrim ladies GAA All Ireland winning team are set to get a Civic Reception.   Leitrim County Council is to host the event, and is in honour of the team's victory over Tyrone earlier in the summer.   It's anticipated that it will be held next month, with the Council set to consult both the team and management.   It follows a motion passed by Fianna Fail Cllr Mary Bohan who says...

There are fears that a lack of student accommodation in Sligo will ultimately lead to gridlock in the town in the months ahead. Many students wishing to study at ATU Sligo now find themselves in a major scramble for somewhere to live. It's thought that it will result in a lot of them driving to college daily. Local Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons says in an ideal world, a train from Sligo to Galway...

Communities in south Donegal are being urged to be on high alert in the wake of last week's seizure of suspected cannabis vapes.   Garda searches were conducted in Bundoran and Donegal Town, following reports of a medical incident, in which a member of the public had fallen ill.   An investigation is continuing.   Local Sinn Fein Cllr Michael McMahan says it's a deeply concerning de...

There's renewed calls for the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to return to 9%.   The VAT rate for the hospitality sector in Ireland currently stands at 13.5%, with a number of businesses across the north west struggling to keep their doors open.   Earlier this month, Minister Paschal Donohoe poured cold water on the matter saying it would cost more than 700 million euro for the resto...

A Donegal Sinn Féin TD has backed his party’s affordable housing plan that promises to be a “game-changer”. The 39 million euro plan published today aims to build 300 thousand homes over the next five years, if elected. The plan proposes many changes, include rent freezes and a 100% redress for the defective block scheme. Deputy Pearse Doherty says it’s important to make homeownership attainable f...