Ocean FM News Reports

Minister of State Sean Canney has officially launched the Coast Guard's new aviation service. The new aviation service, operated by Bristow Ireland under a 10-year contract and includes six purpose-built AW189 helicopters based at Sligo, Waterford, Dublin, and Shannon. The Coast Guard will also deploy a 24-hour fixed wing service, provided by two Beechcraft B200 King Air aircraft, also based at Sh...

A Sligo Labour Senator says to the best of her knowledge the Party is fully supportive of Catherine Connolly in the upcoming Presidential Election. The Irish Independent are reporting today that opinions are divided in the Party over the wisdom of endorsing Catherine Connolly with some privately quoted as saying it reflects poorly on the judgment of leader Ivana Bacik.

A Sligo Leitrim Deputy is urging Iarnrod Eireann to prioritise the Sligo to Connolly route for the reintroduction of catering services.   Irish Rail announced yesterday that it was  working to restore trolley catering on trains and a preferred supplier is now in place.   The service was removed during the pandemic, and while it was returned to other services there is still not cater...

A Sligo Councillor says that she is in agreement with a recent claims by the Irish Hotels federation which claimed that the Department of finance has turned its back on the Hospitality and Tourism industry in this Country.     Data from the Central Statistics Office earlier this year suggested that the number of visitors here is continuing to fall.   Recently it emerged that the gov...

A former North West election candidate and Chairperson of Good Energy Alliance Ireland has expressed his deep concern at reports that Minister Darragh O’Brien has written to An Commisiún Pleanála giving the green light to Shannon LNG.   Recently the Government’s decided to overturn a previous policy position which banned the importation of highly-polluting fracked gas into Ireland and placed...

Catering facilities could be about to return on the Dublin Connolly train service.   Irish Rail says it's working to restore trolley catering on trains and a preferred supplier is now in place.   The service was removed during the pandemic, but calls are growing to bring it back on the Sligo to Dublin line. Recently an independent tea cart started trading at Dromad Station, showing deman...

Members of the public in the North are being urged to have their say on how Northern Ireland will address climate change.   Belfast City Hall hosted the consultation event on Northern Ireland’s first draft Climate Action Plan which was launched in June.   A 16 week consultation is due to end on 8 October.   It’s hoped that the launch of the Plan will be a significant milestone for N...

There's calls for resources to be put into dog foul fining in the North West. It comes as new data from Vision Ireland shows that no fines were issued in Sligo, Leitrim or Donegal last year. Data collated by Vision Ireland shows no fines were issued at all in 14 of the 31 local council areas in 2024, with just 48 fines were issued across the entire country. Donegal Independent Cllr Michael McClaff...

There were 514 fines issued in the North West last year for parking on footpaths. 417 of these fines were issued in Donegal and a further 92 in Sligo. However just five fines were handed out in County Leitrim in 2024. The survey by Vision Ireland found that 26% of people identified parked cars as the number one obstacle which causes them the greatest difficulty when navigating footpaths. Manorhami...

It's been claimed that the Chairman of the Board of Irish Rail has reiterated that the preservation of the Western Rail Corridor as a railway is an absolute priority. Speaking this week, Steve Murphy is understood to have indicated that if greenways are put on existing rail alignments they will never be got back for rail use. Responding to a query about a possible greenway on the rail line from Cl...

Serious momentum seems to be building behind Heather Humphreys Campaign for President among Fine Gael members in the North West. The former Minister for social protection and rural development is battling it out with MEP Sean Kelly for the right to contest the election for the party. At the close of nominations yesterday to replace Mairead McGuinness as the fine Gael candidate both allowed their n...

The chair of Irish Rail says introducing new fleets of trains will increase capacity across the national networks. The All-Island Strategic Rail Review is a plan to increase connectivity by 2050 - which Irish Rail says it is committed to delivering. The body says a priority is ensuring there are double tracks around the island, which would decrease journey times. Steve Murphy is chair of Irish Rai...

The Lough Allen Hotel in Drumshanbo has been taken over by new owners.   The popular tourism destination on the banks of Lough Allen has been closed for a number of years and in more recent times provided accommodation for Ukrainian nationals that were fleeing the Russian invasion.   Signs have been placed at the entrance to the building which states that the hotel will be refurbished ov...

Tents, dirty nappies and BBQs is just some of the mess campers left behind them on Coney Island in recent days. Gardai in Sligo have launched a scathing attack on those responsible, stating that the shameful actions have a negative effect on the land, wildlife, locals and tourism. They say it's extremely disappointing when some people treat the area with such disrespect. Gardai are also warning th...

It's hoped that there will be a 24 hour refuge in Sligo soon. Work is ongoing to identify a suitable site in the town and the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, (DVAS) which covers Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan anticipates that this could be finalised by years end. The charity was founded in 2003 and yet there is still no dedicated emergency facility for women in the region. Carmel McNamee, DVAs...

There are calls for opening hours to the Carrowmore Megalithic cemetery to be extended. The historic site is currently closed to facilitate essential conversation works and visitor facility upgrades. While it is set to reopen again this month, it's thought that it should be open more for the next tourism season. Fine Gael Cllr Thomas Walsh feels that it's as a hugely important asset to the County...

A former North West local election candidate says any attempt to end tax breaks for those that install solar panels would be another example of the current government punishing people who want to play their part in establishing a cleaner environment. A tax exemption for homeowners who sell electricity back to the grid will end in December. Currently, people with solar panels can earn up to 400 eur...

In an effort to find accommodation in Dublin for students travelling from as far as way Donegal, UCD have asked Dubliners to rent them a room.     The Student’s Union in UCD says students are traveling from all parts of the Country and that some are commuting as far away as the North West to attend college in Dublin.     The Students Union is targeting commuters at Luas stops t...

There are renewed calls for more Gardai to be stationed in the North West in the wake of the latest crime figures.   The statistics released this week show that an average of fourteen homes were burgled every day in the first half of the year.   Reports of aggravated burglary have fallen by almost a quarter compared to the same time in 2024.   Cllr Michael Clarke says the issue of c...

A Sligo Councillor says the lack of stepdown facilities in the North West is behind why Letterkenny and Sligo University Hospitals having the second and third highest figure in the Country when it comes to weekly average number of patients in hospital who are well enough to be discharged.   A recent report in the Irish Independent claims another Hospital in the Saolta Group, Galway University...

Driving test waiting times have reduced dramatically in the North West. Donegal currently has the highest average waiting time at 11 weeks while the waiting time in both Sligo and Leitrim stands at nine weeks. The overall goal is said to be an average of 10 weeks and once this is achieved Junior Transport Minister Sean Canney has committed to banning the rollover of learner permits. Donegal road s...

Uisce Eireann has been accused of disrespecting local representatives.  There have been numerous outages in County Donegal in recent weeks, and it’s claimed that there’s a reluctance by Uisce Eireanns main office to provide information to Cllrs.  Donegal County Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig says they should be able to speak to someone directly about various water issues. &n...

A Leitrim Councillor says the regular updates from the office of Junior Minister Michael Healy Rae in relation to the work the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is doing for forestry owners is frustrating many people locally who were left without power and water after violent storms at the beginning of the year.   Ballinamore more MD Councillor Garry Prior was commentating after...

Customers in parts of Leitrim are being urged to conserve water by Uisce Eireann. The calls have been made following a significant increase in demand in recent days. Residents in a number of areas incluidng Drumshanbo are being asked to be “mindful of their usage Speaking to Ocean FM News, Kevin Love, Treatment and Operations Manager for Uisce Eireann gave the following advice for customers.

The Executive of Fine Gael meets later to discuss the options for fielding a new Presidential election candidate.   Mairead McGuinness withdrew last week on health grounds.   Among those who could replace her on the party ticket are former GAA President and MEP Sean Kelly and former Minister Heather Humphrey's.   It’s thought that if Heather Humphrey’s does allow her name to go forw...