Ocean FM News Reports

Concerns of overcrowding in hospitals has been raised ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.   Irish hospitals including Sligo University Hospital and Letterkenny University hospital are routinely caring for patients without a bed due to demand.   Donegal Coroner and GP, Dr Denis McCauley has labelled the overwhelming demand on emergency departments as a “year-round surge.”   Dr...

There is currently no emergency accomodation available across Donegal.   The lack of emergency accomodation is contributing to the housing crisis, with people currently facing eviction left with nowhere to go.   Sinn Fein Councillor, Michael McMahon, has said that many families are currently being put under severe pressure as a result.   He says that it is unfair on people who are f...

A planned protest outside the AXA offices in Sligo later today will be peaceful.   That's according to local people before profit Cllr Gino O'Boyle who is also encouraging the community to take part in today's demonstration.   Members and supporters of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign are staging the protest as part of a BDS campaign, which is a movement that promotes boycotts a...

Parents of children with disabilities are concerned following recent changes to the allocations of Special Education Teachers. From September, the funding allocation that schools receive will no longer be based on the amount of children with disabilities in the schools in question. At the moment, that figure accounts for half of the allocated funding. It's also understood that these changes were i...

Prayers have been offered for the Donegal woman and her two daughters who were killed in a road crash on Tuesday.   47 year old Una Bowden and her daughters, 14 year old Ciara and 9 year old Saoirse, died when the car they were in hit a truck on the N17 in Co. Mayo.   They were remembered at a service in their local parish at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Moycullen last nigh...

Ongoing roadworks in the Rathcormac area are said to be causing absolute chaos.   The works, which began earlier this week, are set to finish on Friday week.   Sligo County Council previously warned that it would result in significant delays to traffic.   Huge tailbacks have been reported since the works began, particularly during peak times.   Fianna Fail Cllr Donal Gilroy is...

Sligo under-20 football manager Paul Henry gives his postmatch assessment of Wednesday evening's 0-9 to 0-9 draw with Roscommon at Markievicz Park.

A woman killed in the crash that claimed three lives on Tuesday was originally from Donegal. Una Bowden lost her life along with her two young daughters, Ciara and Saoirse, after their car collided with an articulated lorry on the N17. The crash happened along a section of the main Sligo to Galway road, where the route bypasses Claremorris. The family lived just outside Moycullen in West Galway. I...

Iarnród Éireann have been urged to cut back hedges that are overgrowing into an estate in Sligo Town. Currently, hedges and briars are overgrowing into gardens from the back of Maugheraboy estate at an area that runs parallel to the train tracks. It's also understood that that particular area has become a popular spot for people dumping litter. Iarnród Éireann have been written to on this issue in...

A recent survey by the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland found parents make up 20 percent of the cyberbullying that teachers face. A leading educational official has expressed their disappointment at the findings. President of the ASTI and Leitrim native, Geraldine O'Brien, says that the results are alarming, and more must be done to protect teachers online and their private lives.

Crowds gathered in the Showgrounds this afternoon ahead of a special game of football. Sligo Rovers hosted a game, in conjunction with the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and the International Fund for Ireland, for children from Northern Ireland and southern border counties. The project, named Beyond the Ball, aims to unite children from either side of the border through sport. One team was managed by Ri...

The Government should stop relying on private providers in the likes of Sligo and Leitrim for housing in general and not just for asylum seekers. That's according to Labours Sligo Leitrim local election candidate Bernie Linanne, who made the comments as senior Ministers are discussing major changes to Ireland's immigration policy today. It would mean a town's 'last hotel' wouldn't be used to house...

Sinn Fein has defended its decision for not endorsing the People's Document'.   When asked for a pledge of support for the document at last night's public meeting, the party's spokesperson Pearse Doherty said that they were prioritising an end-to-end scheme rather than a grant scheme.   The other Donegal TD's, Deputy Thomas Pringle and Joe McHugh endorsed the document.   Speaking to...

The current inclement weather spell continues to seriously affect the livelihoods of farmers right across the north west.   The IFA is asking the Government to provide a co-ordinated response to support farmers through prolonged weather difficulties.   Donegal TD and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue is due to convene a meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee th...

Tributes are pouring in for Fianna Fail Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady who announced her imminent departure from local politics earlier today.   The Sligo/Strandhill Cllr has described her career in local politics as a 'wonderful privilege'.   She confirmed this morning that she's stepping down and will not be contesting the forthcoming local elections in June.   Elected to the council first...

Campaigns are continuing for permanent toilets to be installed at beaches along the Wild Atlantic Way.   Currently, temporary toilets are put in place for the summer months at Aughris Head and Dunmoran Strand.   However, no funding is available for any kind of toilet facilities at Trá Bhuí.   Local Independent Councillor, Michael Clarke, says that it's a disappointment that basic fa...

It's thought that a further price hike to the price of a pint could impact the pub trade in the north west.   The cost of a pint is to rise by 6 cent from April 15th.   It's the third time Diageo has increased its prices in just over 12 months and says it's down to rising costs.   The Vintners Federation of Ireland says it'll be calling on Diageo to commit to no further increases in...

Investigations are continuing this morning into the deaths of a woman and two children in a road crash in Co. Mayo.   It happened on the N17 at Castlegar near Claremorris at lunchtime yesterday, when the car they were travelling in hit a truck.   They're understood to be a mother and her two daughters and were from Galway.   The girls were both aged under 10.   Cathaoirleach of...

It's thought that people in Sligo and elsewhere are holding off using the new the Return Deposit Scheme because they're collecting bigger amounts of cans and bottles to take back.   It comes as the scheme is said to have a slow start among the Irish public.   In its first 40 days, €1.2million worth of deposits has been collected, which is far below the daily estimate of €1million.  ...

It's estimated that over 1,000 people attended last night's public meeting on 'The People's Document' in Donegal.   The joint initiative by various defective block campaign groups, aims to achieve 100% redress for affected homeowners as they feel that the Government's current redress scheme is inadequate.   Independent TD Thomas Pringle and Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh fully endorsed the docu...

Concerns have been raised over Ireland's mining future amid Europe's announcement to radically improve production. The EU Commission's Critical Raw Materials Act aims to improve member states production of minerals from 3 percent to 10 percent. Eddie Mitchell, of Treasure Leitrim, visited Brussels and heard accounts of devastation caused by gold mining. Manorhamilton is one of the proposed destina...

Calls have been reiterated for a feasibility study to be carried out for the development of a major recreation and accommodation development in north Leitrim.   It's hoped that a National or EuroPark would be developed in the Sliabh an Iarainn area similar to those seen in the Lake District and Snowdonia.   This, in-turn, would have wide ranging benefits including employment.   Foll...

There is even more frustration building in Ballinacarrow over the lack of traffic calming measures outside the national school. This has been underlined by the TII's decision to carry out works to narrow the junction of a local road where there have been little-to-no accidents in the past. The issue of vehicles speeding through the village has been highlighted in the past, with school children and...

Childcare providers in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal are pleading with the Children's Minister to consider an alternative plan for them to access Core Funding.   It's a funding stream designed to help cover the costs of running an Early Years or School Aged Care Service but the terms and conditions are said to be making it impossible to obtain.   A large number of local providers have alrea...

The Minister for Agriculture says a balanced approach is needed when it comes to the Common Agricultural Policy.   Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue is one of a number of EU ministers gathering in Brussels today to discuss the ongoing crisis in the agriculture sector.   Farmers across the north west are set to ramp up their protests in the coming weeks over what they feel is increased red t...