Ocean FM News Reports

A new state of the art facility for hikers and cyclists in on the way to west Sligo. Planning permission has been granted for a National Mountain Bike Trail Head Building for the Coolaney area. The development will consist of a café, bike hire facility, toilets and a bike wash area. Independent Councillor, Michael Clarke, is hopeful that construction can begin shortly on what is a badly needed ame...

It is hoped that the Government will provide funding for a long-awaited new community centre and regional sports centre in Ballymote. Currently, the town's resource centre hosts a number of classes and events on a daily basis, however, suffers from a lack of space. Nationally, 22 proposed community centres are vying for a slice of the €20 million Community Centres Investment Fund. Sligo-Leitrim TD...

All-Ireland soccer celebrations for St Claires Comprehensive School Manorhamilton. Their FAI Schools Senior Cup is in the studio tonight – along with some of the players. The Lidl ad campaign to attract more fans to women’s national league games has generated much discussion on this station this week. Why don’t more GAA fans support their female county teams? We’ll bring you a flavour of what our...

There's an 'explosion' of fraudulent scams, according to one Donegal TD.   It's thought that many people across the North West have fallen victim to various types of scams with fraudsters targeting households by texts, phone calls and online.   Millions of euro has been reportedly stolen right across the country as a result.   Speaking in the Dail this afternoon, Sinn Fein's Finance...

It's emerged that a man with severe mental health difficulties was held in a Garda Station in south Donegal for a day last week because no GPs were available locally to help him.   Independent TD for Donegal Thomas Pringle told the Dáil about the issue this afternoon.   He has called it "an injustice" to both the person involved and the Gardaí who had to act.   Speaking to Ocean FM...

The recruitment campaign for the Donegal fire service is set to step up a gear next month. The number of personnel in any given station is to increase as part of a deal agreed last year following strike action by fire fighters. In Bundoran alone, it's thought that up to five jobs will be coming on stream shortly at the fire station there. Local Sinn Fein Cllr Michael McMahon says it's important th...

The government's stalling of a bill to decriminalise possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use has been slammed by a Donegal TD. The People Before Profit bill proposes to amend the current legislation on possession of cannabis, which if passed, it will make it legal for someone to possess up to seven grams of cannabis. While Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle fully supports the bill...

Its thought that the Government have overlooked small businesses in the rollout of the new bottles and cans deposit scheme. The new scheme, which has launched today, will see drinks bottles and cans have a 15-25 cent deposit placed on them, which will be returned to the customer at one of 1,800 reverse-vending machines across the country. The scheme is to try and increase recycling rates in Irelan...

New regulations are said to be "overloading" farmers. That's the view of former IFA Sheep Chairman, Kevin Comiskey, who was speaking ahead of a number of IFA-led protests taking place around the country this evening. The Irish protests are in support of farmers who've been staging demonstrations in France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and other EU member states. They are fighting against European rule...

It's hoped that a number of derelict properties in Sligo will be brought back into use. It's estimated that there are thousands of vacant homes in the wider Sligo area. A dedicated team has been established at Sligo County Council to make contact with the owners of derelict dwellings with a view towards reaching a solution. Local People before Profit Cllr Gino O'Boyle says there a number of houses...

A Public Meeting will be held this later tonight to plan for this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Donegal Town. It's getting underway at the Central Hotel at 8pm. There had been difficulty in the past to garner support for the event and people are being encouraged to help organise the festivities and volunteer on the day. Mayor of Donegal Town Pauric Kennedy says it's important that if people c...

This week, Ronan Flanagan chats to west Sligo native Christopher Tuffy, who has been as the National Dairy Council’s latest Farm Ambassador. Manorhamilton Municipal District Councillor, Padraig Fallon is calling for ACRES payments to be made in full. Head of Farm Support at Ifac, Philip O’Connor checks in to dissect the firm’s Irish Farm Report 2024. While Frances McDonald of Agriland Media Group...

The Taoiseach has accused a Donegal TD of spreading misinformation over the housing crisis.   Leo Varadkar was responding to criticism from Deputy Pearse Doherty in the Dail, who once again slammed the Government over spiralling rental costs.   Deputy Doherty also highlighted that many young people who want to buy a new home are effectively trapped in the rental market.   While the...

It's hoped that an increase of a Garda presence in rural parts of County Sligo will combat the recent rise in burglaries.   It comes as figures from the CSO show that there has been a 17% increase in burglaries across the Sligo Leitrim Garda division over the last year - one of biggest increases nationwide.   There were a total of 151 recorded burglaries across Sligo and Leitrim over the...

West Sligo farmer Christopher Tuffy has been named as the National Dairy Council’s latest farm ambassador.   A native of Enniscrone, Christopher who milks over 150 cows near Doonally was also named as the FBD Young Farmer of the Year in 2022.   Mr. Tuffy supplies Aurivo Co-op and ranked in the top 10% of herds in their recently introduced carbon index.   National Dairy Council ambas...

The effort to restore power in Leitrim last week has been described as complete chaos. Storm Isha and Joselyn effectively left parts of Leitrim at a standstill due to a lack both power and water supplies.   Many parts of the County were left without a supply for many days.   Speaking in the Dail inside the last few minutes, Sligo Leitrim TD Marian Harkin claimed that it was down to lack...

A Sligo Leitrim TD has questioned the Government's approach in supporting those seeking international protection here.   Speaking in the Dail this morning, Independent TD Marc MacSharry claimed that in some cases, there are asylum seekers currently a lot better off financially than Irish people.   He also claimed that some refugees are here solely to capitalise on those states supports....

More bus shelters need to be added in towns and villages across Leitrim. That's the view of Councillor Mary Bohan, who was calling for additional shelters in Drumkeeran. Councillor Justin Warnock also made the case for more shelters to be put in place in Kinlough. Locations that had previously been earmarked for new shelters have now been deemed unsuitable, and new areas are now being sought. Coun...

A wet and windy Wednesday's on the way, with a weather warning for five counties. Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow wind alert for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 8am until 1pm today. Wave overtopping is expected in coastal areas, with strong and gusty southwesterly winds, and rain spreading from the northwest. Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather says strong winds are also expected...

It’s hoped that a safe walking route will be established on a busy stretch of road in Strandhill. The route from the rugby club leading to the local church is said to be treacherous but is still widely used by both cyclists and pedestrians. There’s ongoing concern locally that it’s current state is posing a serious safety risk. Sligo County Council has pledged that it will tackle the issue this ye...

A Donegal school is said to be out tens of thousands of euro due to red tape on Government supports for asylum seekers. Sessiaghoneill National School in Ballybofey has experienced a 33% increase in their school population due to an intake of refugee children. However, it's understood that because the children were enrolled after the September deadline, the school missed out on much needed financi...

Anticipation is building locally that Sligo will be added to the mica and pyrite redress scheme. It's understood that the addition could happen in the next few days, and that Sligo should be added by early to mid February at the latest. A large number of homes in Sligo are thought to be affected by the issue. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Councillor Marie Casserly said she received assurances from Mi...

A Midlands North West MEP is seeking reassurances over new ATM plans from Bank of Ireland.   The bank has announced a new fleet of over 660 ATMs will come on stream over three years. It says they can manage deposits or withdrawals and will “recycle” cash to maximise availability.   It comes as the government prepares to update its Access to Cash law.   Sinn Féin MEP Chris McManus ho...

Funding has been allocated to address issues with the N16 in Leitrim. The road, which is one of the main routes linking Northern Ireland with the West, has seen some cracks appearing, particularly at the Manorhamilton side of the Rainbow Ballroom in Glenfarne. It's understood Leitrim County Council will carry out pavement strengthening at the affected area to rectify the problem. Fine Gael Council...

Serious safety concerns have been raised over the former Glass Factory site in Collooney.   The derelict building is said have fallen into a major state of disrepair and the perimeter of the site is also not secure.   There are fears locally that someone will be injured and that it may lead to instances of anti-social behaviour.   Local Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Healy is urging Sligo Co...