Ocean FM News Reports

Up to 150 climate campaigners have pulled up Sitka spruce on a Coillte plantation in Leitrim. The protest took place as part of a Climate Camp, that was run for five days in Manorhamilton last week by a number of local climate action groups. More than 230,000 hectares of peatland in the Republic of Ireland is currently planted with Sitka spruce. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Brian Smyth of Save Leitr...

A Midlands North West MEP is calling on the Government to ask the EU to extend the deadline for spending the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund. The EU made 1.16 billion Euro available to help businesses adjust to new trading arrangements in the aftermath of Brexit. However due to the delay by the UK and the EU in agreeing the Windsor Framework, most of the original concerns are only now taking effect...

The National Novena to Our Lady of Knock gets underway today. The event which attracted over 100 thousand people before the pandemic will run until August 22nd. It'll kick off at half 10 this morning with a walking tour of the Knock Shrine. Parish Priest of Knock, Father Richard Gibbons describes what'll happen after that:

The Rock area of Ballyshannon was said to be at a standstill yesterday afternoon due to a number of events in the area. It's understood that the Blessing of the Graves coinciding with a match in Fr Tierney Park, led to gridlock. Local Fine Gael Cllr Barry Sweeney says this particular area is notorious for traffic chaos at certain times and despite repeated calls for action from Donegal County Coun...

There's a call for a scholarship scheme to be set up for Gaeltacht colleges. Conradh na Gaeilge says it would open the door to those who don't have the financial means to avail of Irish language courses - a rite of passage for many young people. The organisation is recommending a 10 million euro injection of government funding. General Secretary Julian de Spáinn says Ireland needs more equal acces...

The price hike to a pint has been described as 'poorly timed' with fears that it will have an impact on the pub trade in the North West. From today, the price of a pint goes up again - Diageo is increasing the cost of its stout and beer products by 4 cent, after a hike of 12 cent back in February. It'll affect drinks like Guinness, Smithwick's, Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13 and Carlsberg. Business...

Further calls have been made for the restoration of Cath Lab services at Sligo University Hospital. The Cath Lab service at Sligo University Hospital ceased at the end of June 2022. The National Cardiac Review is to be published imminently and Sligo-Drumcliff Municipal District Councillor Thomas Walsh is hopeful that Sligo University Hospital will be included. Speaking to Ocean FM News, the Fine G...

A new Covid-like virus sweeping the country is not a cause of concern, according to a leading medical expert on virology. The virus known as EG.5 and nick-named 'Eris', has flu-like symptoms. Professor Sam McConkey is deputy Dean at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He says symptoms currently doing the rounds are nothing more than a common cold or light flu.

People wishing to gain farming qualifications through the apprenticeships system will soon be able to do so as three such apprenticeships begin this September. The apprenticeships will be in farm management, farm technician and horticulture, and will be available through a number of agricultural colleges around the country. PRO of the Sligo branch of the Irish Farmers Association Kathleen Henry be...

Torrential rain is being forecast in parts of the country today as the mixed spell of weather continues. Met Éireann is predicting that flooding will occur in parts of the west and Ulster as a low-pressure front comes in from the Atlantic. Met Éireann Forecaster Deirdre Lowe says tomorrow is expected to be somewhat cooler than today.

Lowering the voting age to 16 is something that should be considered in Ireland. That's according to Sinn Fein Councillor, Arthur Gibbons, who said Ireland should consider replicating what Scotland have done in decreasing the legal age to vote. The voting age is one of a number of potential changes that could be made by the Electoral Commission, as well as the scrapping of byelections, and the use...

A Leitrim Councillor has called on insurance companies to cease the practice where they discriminate against the owners of older cars and commercial vehicles. North Leitrim Councillor Padraig Fallon says he has been informed by the owners of older automobiles that have recently found it difficult to obtain insurance cover due to the age of the cars or vans. This is despite the vehicles having pass...

SIPTU are also investigating if social protection payments for retained firefighters are deliberately being blocked as a result of the dispute. Mr Keane said that he wasn't aware of that being the case in Sligo, but labelled the situation as ridiculous, should it come to pass.

Sligo firefighters have accused senior management at Sligo County Council of ignoring their ongoing strike. On-call members of the fire service first started industrial action on June 6th in a dispute over the low level of pay and restrictive conditions of the job. In an escalation of that strike, all retained fire stations across Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal will “go dark” from 8 o’clock tomorrow m...

The late Detective Garda Deirdre Finn has been remembered as a leader of kindness and love at her Funeral Mass in Dublin this afternoon. Garda Finn died following a boat fire in Carrick-On-Shannon on Monday morning. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and she was off duty at the time. At her funeral mass at St. John the Evangelist Church, Ballinteer in Dublin this afternoon, family fri...

A Donegal Doctor has described the Government's expansion of GP cards to children aged six and seven is 'worrying'.  It comes as parents can register their kids for the visit cards from today. It was announced in Budget 2023 but was delayed by opposition from GPs, saying they would be unable to cope with the additional workload.  Dr Denis McCauley, member of the GP sub-Committee of the Irish Medic...

Sligo firefighters have accused senior management at Sligo County Council of ignoring their ongoing strike. On-call members of the fire service first started industrial action on June 6th in a dispute over the low level of pay and restrictive conditions of the job. In an escalation of that strike, all retained fire stations across Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal will "go dark" from 8 o'clock tomorrow m...

A Mayo TD is calling for more social and affordable housing. It's in the wake of yesterday's Daft report showing an almost 11 percent increase in rent prices across the country, compared to 8 per cent in Dublin. Rents went up by at least a fifth in counties like Mayo, Galway and Roscommon while counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal also saw significant increases. Mayo Deputy Rose Conway Walsh says p...

The new multi storey car park at Sligo University Hospital is nearing completion. It's expected that the new facility will be up and running by years end and will cater solely to hospital staff. This in turn, it's hoped, will alleviate pressures on the existing car parking facilities. Fianna Fail Cllr Donal Gilroy and member of the Regional Health Forum West says its the first step in addressing v...

The SLNCR Greenway project has been approved to move on to Phase 2 of the public consultation process. Phase 2 will mainly consist of Route Options Selection, and the process will get underway this coming October. A full report regarding Phase 1 is now available on the SLNCR Greenway website. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Cllr Marie Casserly described the progression of the project as positive, and u...

Sligo saw the lowest increase in rent prices in the North West in the second quarter of this year. According to the latest report from Daft.ie, market rents in Sligo were around 16% higher in the second quarter of 2023 than a year. In Donegal, market rents were on average 22.2% higher over the same period while Leitrim saw a rise of 20.2%. The report generally outlines that rents continue to rise...

SIPTU says "the silence from Government" has forced firefighters to escalate their strike. On-call members of the fire service first started industrial action on June 6th in a dispute over the low level of pay and restrictive conditions of the job. In an escalation of that strike, all retained fire stations will "go dark" from 8 o'clock this Saturday morning - meaning crews will have no internal c...

It's been confirmed that day services at Easkey Day Centre are to be restored to a four day week. There had been a reduction in services in place for some time due to the pandemic and general staffing issues. It's understood that people will be contacted in the coming weeks to gauge interest with a view towards reinstating the additional hours in September. Meanwhile, it's also expected that addit...

An overwhelming number of farmers say they would vote for a new farmers' political party if one was formed. A survey by the Irish Farmers Journal shows 72 per cent of farmers would give their first preference vote to a farmers' party. Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue's ratings among farmers has fallen with only 1 in 5 believing the minister is doing a good job. Fine Gael's support has...

The Chair of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee feels that the Garda Commissioner still needs to consider his position on a number of key issues amid ongoing anger among rank and file Gardaí. Members of the Garda Representative Association are being balloted on whether they have confidence in Drew Harris. It's over a dispute about rosters. But Garda Commissioner Drew Harris says he's going nowhe...