Ocean FM News Reports

Sligo County Council has announced a temporary closure of Keeloges Church and Graveyard for approximately two weeks. The closure is necessary to allow contractors to carry out vital vegetation management works under archaeological supervision. The works are part of an ongoing conservation effort to safeguard the site, including addressing safety concerns following a collapsed internal wall. Speaki...

Funding to the value of €700,000 has been allocated for Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn.   Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien earlier confirmed the allocation.   Ireland West Airport is set to get the biggest share in funding under the latest round of the Regional Airports Programme.   The facility in Knock is being allocated €1.9m, followed by Kerry at €1.4m.   The funding...

Gardai are stepping up their efforts to reduce retail crime in the North West in the run up to Christmas.   It's part of Operation Tairge which is the Garda Siochana's national initiative aimed at combating retail crime.   It comes as retail crime will largely trend upwards over the festive period.   Chairman of Sligo BID Finbarr Filan says that crime in Sligo largely mirrors the na...

The Justice Minister is facing increasing pressure to give a firm commitment that Donegal Town courthouse will reopen.   Minister Jim O'Callaghan is visiting Donegal tomorrow for a number of key engagements.   Donegal Town courthouse closed in September due to health and safety concerns with sittings moved temporarily to Ballyshannon, pending a review by the OPW.   It was revealed e...

Concerns have been raised over the lack of beds in Aras Breffni Nursing Home in Manorhamilton. The nursing home currently holds 25 beds for patients across North Leitrim. The orginal building had a capacity of 40 beds, which has led to increased waiting lists for patients. Local councillor Felim Gurn says it's about time capacity was raised in the home:

A Gaeltacht school in south west Donegal is said to be unfairly left out of the DEIS programme. Meentinadea National School in Ardara is currently excluded from the programme, even though every other school in the same area qualifies. The Government initiative that provides additional resources to schools with a high concentration of students facing educational disadvantage. This school is said to...

A Donegal TD has claimed that even Santa is suffering from the cost of living crisis. Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Pearse Doherty made the remarks during Leaders' Questions in the Dail today. The comments related to the government's failure to introduce energy credits in the recent Budget. The Donegal deputy said that people are being forced to count every euro:

A North West based Junior Ministers says the government’s new infrastructure plan will make it easier for people to construct houses in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.   As a result of the plan It's going to be much harder for people to object to new developments.   The Coalition are aiming to cut red tape for decisions around projects like housing developments and roads.   The new plan...

There's a warning that peak nights in Sligo over the festive season may result in some pressure on taxi services locally. People are being advised to book and plan ahead as a big demand is expected over the next few weekends. While the number of taxis in Sligo has reportedly increased, there may still be a shortage owing to the expected influx of people into the town. Owner of Feehilys Taxi, Coach...

The Transport Minister is facing calls to ensure Irish Coastguard Search and Rescue workers are protected. A Sinn Fein motion brought forward in the Dail last night, calls for a number of immediate steps, the first of which is an urgent review of how 24-hour SAR duties are being recorded. Crews are required to work 24-hour shifts, yet these shifts are being recorded as only 16.5 hours of duty time...

It's been claimed that residents are being continuously terrorised in the Ballytivnan area of Sligo. Anti-social behaviour is said to be an ongoing problem, with fireworks being set off daily in the area. Some people living there are said to be losing their sense of security as a result. Deputy Mayor of Sligo Borough Cllr Arthur Gibbons says it's a major concern that unfortunately is not confined...

A Leitrim Councillor has questioned the wisdom of a new directive which is advising households to keep amounts of cash at home in case of emergencies.   The directive was part of an update to public advising what to do during extreme events like power outages due to weather or cyber-attacks.   Normally people have been warned against keeping cash at home, especially older people.  ...

A Local fishing representatives says the industry is facing ‘an Economic Armageddon’ ahead of a meeting with the Taoiseach this afternoon.     EU fisheries ministers will attend the next Fisheries Council meeting on 11 and 12 December, where 2026 fishing quotas will be agreed.   Brendan Byrne of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association says that meeting will be the most i...

Irish Water is under fire yet again for not prioritising upgrade work at Teelin in Donegal.   A large number of residents are said to be impacted regularly by water outages due to what's been described as sub-standard pipes.   While long awaited replacement works have taken place in Glencolmcille recently, questions remain over why there is not a focus on the Teelin area.   Irish Wa...

Well renowned vacancy rate figures for Sligo have been proven inaccurate.   The data released regularly by Geo Directory claims that Sligo continuously has the highest commercial vacancy rate in country.   However, Sligo County Council has undertaken its own study, which shows that the Geo Directory statistics are wrong, with many occupied units marked empty.   A more detailed repor...

A key meeting was held in Tubbercurry at the weekend over a number of local issues. Questions are being asked over progress on a number of projects eat marked for the town, including the former Garda barracks and the health centre. There’s also ongoing transport concerns including the lack of a local link catering to the area. The meeting was attended by TDs and Cllrs. Fianna Fáil Cllr Barry Galla...

ATU is receiving €10.5 million in funding. The money is set to go towards digital capacity, strengthening student engagement and supports, enhancing staff development and leadership, and accelerating progress on climate action and sustainability goals. The investment is being mooted as a strong signal of balanced regional development and is part of a nationwide €65.8m investment in technological e...

There's concern that the North West is being side-lined in a new Garda initiative. It comes as a high-visibility policing operation which is in ­effect in Dublin is set to be rolled out in other cities and large towns. The plan was introduced in the Capital last year with extra Gardai deployed to the area and is said to have been a major success with a large drop in street crime recorded since. Pl...

A Leitrim Beef Farmer say a recall of Brazillian beef from EU markets raises very serious questions about its production standards. The recall follows the discovery of hormones in beef exported from Brazil to the EU. It coincides with a report on the findings of an IFA /Irish Farmers Journal investigation on production standards for Brazilian beef. Patrick is a beef farmer and a member of the Iris...

A North West representative of the GRA says it's their hope that tasers will be rolled out as soon as possible to front line members of An Garda Siochana. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan is expected to bring a memo to Cabinet today on the issue. It's understood 128 frontline Gardai will be trained up, under a 6 month pilot project that could start as early as this week. The plan would be introduc...

A local County Councillor and teacher has called for a public awareness campaign targeting class rooms in relation to the dangers of e scooter. Leitrim independent Councillor, James Gilmartin has backed has backed calls which warn parents not to buy e-scooters for their children as Christmas presents,. The Royal College of Physicians have also called for urgent action as its members deal with the...

The Government is under fire over the level of funding sanctioned to County Sligo under the Safety Improvement Schemes. The latest allocation was €370,000 for the entire County. There’s said to be a number of projects waiting for funding to progress but its thought the overall amount won’t go far enough. Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Healy has branded the allocation as a disgrace with many serious issues...

A local Consultant in Public Health Medicine is warning that the relatively low number of people receiving flu vaccinations is leading to the spread of the flu and placing extra pressure on our Hospitals.   The HSE has confirmed that nationally 418 people presented to hospital with the flu last week.   Yesterday the INMO trolley watch figures confirmed that there were 73 people reported...

The Sligo greenway project has been shelved.   Sligo County Council has confirmed that an alternative alongside route to the disused train line which had been under consideration is not feasible.   Risks, impacts and costs were all said to be factors which have led to the decision.   Late last year, Irish Rail ruled out the proposal to establish the greenway on the disused line itse...

The HSE is warning of a surge in hospital admissions as a result of the flu. It says cases are rapidly rising, with 418 people presenting to hospital with the flu last week. The extra number of people seeking is expected to place more pressure on the regions hospitals. Earlier today there were 73 reported to be waiting on trollies in the two main hospitals in the North West. According to the INMO...