Ocean FM News Reports

A North West spokesperson for The St. Vincent De Paul movement says an increasing number of people are accessing their services across the counties of Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.   Nationally it’s being reported that almost 200 hundred thousand people have been in touch with The charity this year alone looking for help.     The society says it has provided over 330 million euro of d...

The Ballymote-Tubbercurry Fine Gael selection Convention takes place later tonight. It gets underway at 8.30pm in Cawley's Hotel in Tubbercurry. Three sitting Councillors Martin Connolly, Gerard Mullaney and Dara Mulvey will be seeking nominations along with Patrick Cleary. A native of West Sligo, Patrick Cleary has been outlining his reasons for contesting to Ocean FM News.

Sligo County Council have been asked to write to Irish Water regarding the replacement of pipes in Carney. There were reports of discolouration in the water in recent weeks, with the pipes in Finnid that serve the area believed to be long overdue an upgrade. Irish Water had previously stated that the area is currently under review for works to be carried out, and it's hoped that work can begin in...

A site for a new burial ground in North Sligo has finally been located. The area in question in Grange is located near the GAA pitch and it's hoped that access to the site can be developed from there, or from behind the church in the south of the village. Feasibility studies were carried out in both Grange and Rosses Point, however, no suitable area for Rosses Point was found. Speaking to Ocean FM...

Councillors from the Ballymote - Tubbercurry Municipal District meet at Ireland West Airport in Knock later today.   Local representatives and management at the airport are set to discuss a range of issues while a progress report on the facility is also expected.   The airport operator last year enjoyed a pre-tax profit of just over €2m after the airport generated record revenues of almo...

There will be no free Christmas Parking in Sligo this year.   The initiative is set to be rolled out in other local authority car parks across the country as a good will gesture to shoppers in the run up to the festive season.   However, it's understood that a decision has been made not to implement it in Sligo.   It had been in place in the town in 2022, but it caused major problem...

A Donegal TD has urged the Minister for Education to rectify what has been labelled as “unfair treatment” of school transport bus escorts.   Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn said pay and conditions received by escorts does not reflect the importance of their work.   Bus escorts assist children with special needs and disabilities to and from school.   In response, Mi...

A new timetable for rail services will come into effect on December 10th - but not for the Sligo-Dublin line. Irish Rail says it has approval from the National Transport Authority, which will see additional intercity services to and from Cork, Carlow and Westport. There will also be additional trains in the commuter belt between Dublin and Portlaoise and Dublin and Drogheda. No changes will be mad...

A Leitrim Councillor has called for a special fund to be established in order to help cut hedges on a number of secondary roads and lanes across the county. Independent Councillor, Feilim Gurn, says there are on-going problems with overgrown hedgerows on country lanes that are making it impossible for school buses to provide services for school children. The Manorhamilton based elected representat...

It's been confirmed that local company, Glebe Builders has been awarded the contract for a new housing development in Bundoran.   42 social housing units are set to be built at Gort na Gréine, Drumacrin.   There will also be associated site development works.   It'll be the first social housing construction in the town in more than twenty years.   Local Sinn Fein Cllr Michael M...

A number of public consultations are taking place on the Barnesmore Gap Greenway next week.   The Greenway is set to link the Twin Towns and Donegal Town.   The event will focus on phase two of the emerging preferred route corridor.   All interested parties and members of the public are being invited to attend the events in the Abbey hotel Tuesday 12 noon to 8pm and in Jacksons Hote...

Concerns have been raised in the Dáil regarding the dermatology unit in Sligo University Hospital.   A year ago, the consultant flagged that all clinics would have to be cancelled as he was facing up to 100 new referrals each week, and had over three thousand people waiting for their first appointment.   Twelve months on and there has been little to no improvement, with the consultant in...

Questions are being asked if the Health Minister would be visiting Letterkenny University Hospital if he wasn't due to turn the sod on the new community hospital facility in the town.   Minister Stephen Donnelly is set to visit Donegal this day week, where he will meet with both GPs and consultants who have raised the alarm over major issues affecting the Emergency Department and other areas...

David Rowe on Sligo Rovers financial picture Johnny Kenny on Ireland U21s & his next career steps The junior Irish surfers heading for Brazil National Cross Country Athletics preview

A public meeting will be held in the Glasshouse in Sligo Town this evening as a show of solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. It gets underway at 8pm, and speakers on the night include people from Palestine who live in Sligo, as well as a number of local representatives. The aim of the meeting this evening is to show support to those affected by the ongoing war. Sinn Féin Councillor, A...

It's been claimed that not a single grant under the vacant property refurbishment scheme has been paid out in Donegal.   The scheme, launched last year, has already come in for criticism locally.   Homeowners must pay for and carry out the work in the first instance before the grant money can be drawn down - an aspect that a number of Cllrs in Sligo have already deemed unfair.   The...

A Leitrim woman has announced her intention to run in the upcoming local elections. Caitriona Bergin, originally from Dublin but living in Leitrim for the last eight years, hopes to secure one of two seats within Fine Gael at their convention on November 26th. Two seats have become available in Leitrim County Council, following the retirement of Councillors Sean McDermott and Frank Dolan. Speaking...

Leitrim man, Kevin Comiskey has confirmed his intentions to run for Fine Gael in next year's local election in the Manorhamilton MD.   It comes as he officially steps down from his role as the IFA National Sheep Committee chair today.   Mr Comiskey is to seek a nomination at the party's selection convention on Sunday November 26th.   Having been part of the IFA over almost eight yea...

A potential row back on a decision to abolish hospital car parking charges in the North is 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'. That's according to Sinn Fein MLA Gemma Dolan who has been reacting to a move from the Department of Health to hold an eight-week consultation on the re-introduction of the charges. It comes just six months before they're due to be scrapped. Currently, income from car parking cha...

As the conflict in the Middle East continues, one Sligo-Leitrim TD has spoken of her support of the Israeli ambassador.   There has been increased calls for the resignation of Dana Erlich from her role.   The Social Democrats brought forward a motion to the Dáil calling on the Government to withdraw diplomatic status from the Ambassador and push for the imposition of EU-wide economic san...

The Dail has heard that the constituency review 'kicked to touch' over decisions made on the Donegal and Sligo Leitrim boundaries.   Despite expectations, Donegal remained unchanged as part of the review held earlier this year, with parts of south Donegal staying in the Sligo Leitrim constituency.   It been thought that Donegal should have been split into two three seater constituencies....

Momentum is needed to see agriculture align with climate goals.   That's one of the key messages as 500 agri-food delegates meet today for a conference on the latest climate policy developments.   One focus is on the use of science and technology to help reach the 2030 51 per cent emissions reduction targets.   Agriculture Minister and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue says they are ma...

Concern has been expressed in Leitrim regarding the arrival of a significant number of refugees. The old Abbey Manor hotel in Dromahair is in the process of being refurbished in order to house up to 155 refugees. It's thought that a mix of families with children and single men will be among those moving into the hotel. This will increase the population of the village by around 15%. Councillor Mary...

With a number of vacant and derelict properties in the north west, one local representative is calling for a number of measures which would in turn, bring them into use.   There were 216 empty council homes in the north west at the end of the first six months of this year.   While in recent days, Labour has launched a Vacant Property Campaign and is encouraging the public to report vacan...

New regulations around the wearing of helmets while on a quad bike are set to come into effect from this coming Monday, November 20th. The new regulations mandate that operators of quad bikes in any workplace must have successfully completed a quad bike training course provided by a registered provider to a QQI standard or equivalent. Additionally, these operators must wear head protection while u...