Funding will be provided for the remediation of Mitchell Curley Park in Sligo.

Concern has previously been raised by local residents over the state of disrepair, with sections of the playground closed off.

Following negotiations between the council and the parks department, an allocation has been agreed for works to be carried out.

Local Fine Gael Cllr Fergal Nealon welcomed the news and hopes for a speedy process:

Temperatures could get close to a record high for the month of April today.

High pressure centred close to Ireland is bringing warm sunny conditions over the coming days.

The current April record is 25.8 degrees Celcius which was set in Glenties, Co Donegal, in 1984.

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather doesn't think we'll quite make that - but he reckons it could be close.

A local business owner has issued a strong warning over a scam affecting his company.

It's emerged that a forged business card is in circulation, pertaining to be Inver Hire and Power Equipment.

A cloned business card is where a legitimate card's details are copied, meaning that it is very difficult to decipher which is the one belonging to the company. `

There are also reports of individuals going door-to-door attempting to sell generators.

The company's owner Christy McCloskey has this advice for anyone approached by the rogue traders:

County Leitrim is being sacrificed in the National Planning Framework.

That's according to Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove, who believes that that a number of amendments need to be made.

The first major update to the National Planning Framework was agreed by Government ministers earlier this month.

There's ongoing concern among Leitrim communities over the likes of gold mining, high levels of forestry and fracked gas.

Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Cosgrove says there's the framework needs to take these issues into consideration:

A roundabout in Laghey is a step closer.

The proposed infrastructure has been in the pipeline for some time and has been deemed as key in solving major safety issues in the area.

The roundabout would be ideally situated close to the Pettigo junction.

Negotiations are ongoing with landowners but it is expected that contract documentation will be finalised next month.

Subject to confirmation of land acquisition agreements, this may enable a construction tender process this year with a potential construction contract award late 2025.

Fianna Fail Cllr Michael Naughton is hopeful that work can begin next year and that disruption will be minimal:

There are further feud fears after the latest alleged petrol bomb attack in Sligo.

The incident happened on Finisklin Road in the early hours of yesterday morning.

A vehicle was completely destroyed by fire as a result.

It comes a month after a petrol bomb was thrown through the window of a downstairs room at a house in Cranmore - it's not known if the two incidents are linked.

Local Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons has hit out at those repsonible:

It's now been claimed that painful hip surgeries carried out on children may have been routine practice.

An audit is currently examining the criteria for a specific type of hip surgery in young children carried out between 2021 and 2023.

It was previously claimed in recent weeks that thousands of children could have undergone the unnecessary surgeries.

Speaking as part of a motion on the issue in the Dail last night, Sinn Fein Donegal TD Pearse Doherty says serious questions need to be answered:

The rate of first-time mothers giving birth via caesarean section was 73.5% in Sligo University Hospital during February.

This was noticeably higher than other hospitals across the region, with Letterkenny University Hospital on 35.5%, Galway University Hospital on 44.6% and Mayo University Hospital on 46.3%, while it was also a large increase on Sligo’s own figures from the month previous, with 48.9%.

The HSE have commented to OceanFM News that the overall caesarean section rate for SUH in 2024 was 41.6%, and that decisions regarding a caesarean section are made collaboratively between consultant obstetricians and their patients.

Krysia Lynch, CEO of the Association for Improvement in the Maternity Services Ireland, was highly concerned over the percentage:

Concern has been raised by a number of Sligo residents over the current condition of Mitchell Curley Park.

Many consider the area to have fallen into a serious state of disrepair, with sections of the children’s playground closed off.

As it stands there is no government funding allocated for the maintenance of the facilities, which has left the area deteriorating over time.

Local Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons has suggested a committee could be set up to help improve the standards of the park:

A Donegal TD has backed his party’s Councillors decision to walk-out at a Donegal County Council meeting yesterday.

All 100% Redress Party Cllrs exited the Special Plenary Meeting on Housing early in protest at current government measures on defective blocks.

The party are requesting that the Minister for Housing James Browne TD visit Donegal and the homes impacted.

Deputy Charles Ward says he supports the decision made by the Cllrs: