Ocean FM News Reports

Almost 60 patients at Sligo's pain clinic have been sent to private hospitals for procedures. It comes as recruitment to fill the two consultant post at the clinic is still ongoing - almost a year on from when the positions were initially vacated. Shortlisting for the consultant position in pain services is said to be taking place this week. Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Cllr Declan Bree says while there does finally seem to be some progress, its taking far too long to get the necessary people recruited. All the while, Cllr Bree says many local people are suffering, a situation which is entirely unacceptable:

It’s emerged there was no physical assaults by prisoners on either fellow prisoners or staff at Loughan House in 2024. That is a reduction of one on 2023 figures. Official figures published by the Irish Prison Service, however, do show an overall 31 per cent rise in “prisoner-on-prisoner direct physical assaults” within the Irish prison system between 2023 and 2024. There are now 5,268 prisoners in custody nationally, which is 114 per cent of bed capacity. Dromahair native and Prison Officers’ Association’s deputy general secretary, Gabriel Keaveny says the problem of assaults comes back to overcrowding.

It's felt that an agreement to move the Donegal Education Centre to Letterkenny is not a done deal. ATU and the CEO of the Donegal Education and Training Board have signalled their support for the imminent move from Donegal Town to Letterkenny. While the business plan was made available earlier this week with several key elements of it redacted. Donegal TD Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher attended both public meetings in relation to the centre's relocation. He feels greater moves may have to be made to halt it:

A Sligo Leitrim Government TD has called into question the behaviour of some opposition members yesterday that have been accused of bullying the Ceann Comhairle. The Dáil resumed earlier today after being suspended amid chaotic scenes yesterday. Opposition leaders are meeting today to consider a motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle. More disruption is expected in the Dail later with both sides at an impasse over speaking rights. The Government voted through new speaking time rules which gives slots to backbench coalition TDs and independents who support them. Sligo Leitrim Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan again the disruption of the Dáil was another bad for Irish Politics

Fine Gael members in South Donegal will meet on Friday to decide who will fill the seat vacated by the appointment of Manus Boyle Seanad. Friday’s convention will take place at 8 p.m. in the Bay View Hotel in Killybegs. It now seems likely that just two candidates will contest the race to be elected on to the Local Authority. Former Ballyshannon councillor, Barry Sweeny who missed out on re-election in the last local elections, will battle it out with Michael Boyle, son of former councillor John Boyle and younger brother of Senator Manus Boyle. Speaking to Ocean FM news Barry Sweeney says at present Ballyshannon and Bundoran is under represented politically. The former Councillor says there a number of projects that he worked on during his term on the Council that he would like to complete.

Michael Boyle says he's hopeful of following in the footsteps of his family after he was chosen to contest the south Donegal Fine Gael co-option. Boyle's brother Manus was appointed the Seanad earlier this year, vacating the seat he won in June's local elections, while his father John is also a former sitting Councillor. He'll go up against a former Councillor in Barry Sweeny at Friday's convention. Despite his political inexperience, he says he's always been interested in being a public representative.

The Government is under pressure to clarify if its energy policies have changed. It comes a plan was approved in recent weeks to develop a State-led liquefied natural gas terminal, which would serve as the country's emergency gas reserve. The move has received major backlash, most notably among anti-fracking groups in Leitrim. The issue was raised in the Seanad this morning by Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove who wasn't satisfied with the response from Minister of State Kieran O Donnell:

Development works are being sought to address the repeating foul odour impacting residents in Ballymote. Uisce Eireann are being called upon to act swiftly, and to investigate the issue in the Wolfe Tone Street area. It’s understood that the problem has persisted over a number of years without a suitable solution to be found, with people resorting to opening all windows in an affected building. Local Fine Gael Cllr Dara Mulvey says the issue has gone on long enough and needs to be solved once and for all:

34 children are currently on a waiting list for Child and Adolescent Mental Health service in south county Donegal. Figures published by the HSE as part of this month's meeting of the regional health forum west show that they are some of the almost 130 young people are on CAMHS waiting lists in the county. The Government has previously been called on to regulate and reform the service as a matter of urgency. Donegal Councillor Gerry McMonagle says the situation in the county is unacceptable:

A working group has been set up to progress the purchase of a cancer bus between Sligo and Galway. The current bus is currently without a toilet which has leaves passengers with no option but to ask the driver to stop at service stations along the route. However, the group which involves relevant charitable organisations along with representatives from Sligo University Hospital will see the purchase of a wheelchair-friendly bus with a toilet. Member of the Regional Health Forum West, Councillor Edel McSharry says ultimately, it's about providing appropriate conditions to the service users:

Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal all showed strong increases in housing prices over the first three months of 2025, when compared to last year. According to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report for Q1, Leitrim showed the highest rise of 12% over the last 12 months, with an average home price of €204,000. Sligo rose by 11%, with an average price of a home at €221,000. While Donegal increased by 8%, with an average home price of €230,000. All three counties showed prices between 47% and 54% higher than seen at the start of the covid19 pandemic. Author of the report, Ronan Lyons, explains the increase in house demand across the North West region:

The Dáil descended into chaos once again following its resumption this afternoon. Opposition TDs have spoken of their disproval of Government proposals to allocate new speaking times for regional Independents and backbenchers. Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy outlined she dedicated close to 20 hours to the speaking rights issue and has now “reached an impasse”: Donegal TD Pearse Doherty stood in protest to the Ceann Comhairle’s remarks. Despite this, Verona Murphy says the Dáil will continue its business, and the Taoiseach will continue to answer, whether opposition TDs like the answer or not.

There were positive discussions during Tuesday morning’s meeting of a delegation from Leitrim County Council and the forestry minister. A delegation from the local authority travelled to Leinster House to discuss the fall out over recent storms with Michael Healy Rae. The county bore the brunt of the adverse weather conditions with power outages one of the biggest bones of contention in recent years. Among those who attended was the Cathaoirleach of the Council, Paddy O’Rourke. Speaking following the meeting, Councillor O’Rourke says there’s reasons for encouragement following the discussions.

Post-primary schools in the north west are among the 65% which employed unqualified teachers last year. Figures from the Department of Education, obtained by TG4, show over 4 thousand 600 unqualified people held these positions for the academic year 2023/2024. While 98% of primary schools nationally employed unqualified teachers over the same period. The figures will form the focus of a special on TG4's 7 Lá tonight. Donegal teacher and ASTI vice president, Padraig Curley says the shortage has serious knock-on effects:

A Donegal TD is predicting that the government’s decision to renege on an agreement in relation to speaking rights in Leinster house could lead to more difficult time ahead in the Dáil. The row over speaking time in the Dáil is set to come to a head this afternoon. The opposition has vowed to resist a Government proposal to allocate new speaking times for the Regional Independents and its own backbenchers. The Tánaiste, Simon Harris claims the Opposition reaction has been disproportionate. The Sinn Fein Chief Whip, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn says it’s unprecedented to see all Opposition TD’s so fully united in opposition. The Donegal based Deputy says any attempts to undermine the opposition will be strongly opposed

A Donegal Councillor has expressed his concern over the latest business plan to be published for the Donegal Education Centre. Cllr Jimmy Brogan says correspondence he has received from the Atlantic Technology University is at odds with what is claimed in the report when it comes to the centre being moved from Donegal Town to Letterkenny. The Independent Councillor says teachers at the centre have already been informed that the Centre will move at the end of this month. Cllr Brogan has urged those who oppose the move to voice their opposition at the 2023 AGM which is scheduled to take place tomorrow night in Letterkenny. Cllr Brogan says the delayed staging of the AGM provides further evidence why there are serious governance concerns over the running of the centre

There was huge support shown for an expanded train timetable for Sligo. As highlighted yesterday, an issue was to be raised at the latest Ballymote-Tubbercurry Municipal District meeting, that called for an increased frequency of trains. As it stands, no train arrives from Longford into Sligo before 9am, and it’s thought this severely limits working and education opportunities for people. It’s hoped that earlier and later trains could help boost the local economy and ease housing demands. Speaking after the council meeting, Fianna Fáil Cllr Paul Taylor says the introduction of additional train services is a no-brainer:

A further enquiry is to be made for a meeting between department ministers and Sligo elected representatives over the N17. A proposal for a meeting to be held in Dáil Éireann was issued earlier this year, but a demanding schedule prevented department ministers from setting a date for discussions. Sligo Cllrs along with Sligo-Leitrim TDs have been invited to the meeting, with an invitation to be extended to several Mayo Cllrs, as they will be impacted by the suggested Knock to Collooney developments. Ballymote-Tubbercurry Fianna Fáil Cllr Barry Gallagher says the N17 is a priority issue for the region:

A delegation from Leitrim County Council is to meet with the forestry minister to discuss the fall out over recent storms this morning. The county bore the brunt of the adverse weather conditions with power outages one of the biggest bones of contention in recent years. A number of elected representatives locally have voiced their dissatisfaction with the performance of Minister Michael Healy Rae and were disappointed that he failed to visit the North West to inspect the level of damage caused first hand. Members of the Manorhamilton MD met with 3 ESB staff members at Monday's meeting in an effort to get further clarity on the cuts which impacted the area. Among those who will attend the meeting is Independent Councillor Eddie Mitchell. He is hopeful Minister Healy Rae will provide further clarity on where he stands on the issue of forestry in Leitrim when they meet later.

Discussions and debates are continuing locally in relation to the government's response to recent adverse weather conditions. Some families went more than 3 weeks in north Leitrim with intermittent outages affecting the area Manorhamilton Independent Councillor Felim Gurn says falling and overhanging trees are continuing to impact the area. He feels lessons need to be learned adding that the communication from Coillte and ESB left a lot to be desired: