Breaking News
New Inis Mor platform means faster launches for RNLI
Galway Bay fm newsroom – A newly installed pontoon on the Aran Islands will mean faster launch times for the RNLI.
The crew will be able to launch their all-weather Severn Class lifeboat faster and it’ll be easier to transfer casualties because of the new 24-metre berth.
The 56-tonne platform is situated in the harbour between the new breakwater and original pier on Inis Mór.
Speaking to Galway Bay fm News, Divisonals Operations Manager with the RNLI, Owen Medland explains how vital the new structure is to crews.
Breaking News
UHG was third most overcrowded hospital nationwide during January

Galway Bay fm newsroom – UHG was the third most overcrowded hospital in the country last month.
728 patients were waiting for a bed during January.
Meanwhile, 417 patients were waiting on trolleys at Portiuncula Hospital – the worst January on record for the Ballinasloe hospital.
11,289 people were recorded on hospital trolleys since January 1st
That’s up 2 and half thousand on the same time last year.
University Hospital Limerick continues to be the worst affected by over-crowding, accounting for 10 per cent of the overall figure, at 1,180.
Cork, Galway, Letterkenny, and St. Vincent’s in Dublin make up the top five – totalling of over 3,000.
That’s in stark contrast with the bottom five – Tullamore, Portlaoise, the National Children’s Hospital, Connolly Hospital, and Waterford – with a combined total of 213.
The INMO says, “a lack of adequate planning has put unnecessary stress on nurses and the patients”, describing January’s figures as “unacceptably high”.
Breaking News
Athenry, Loughrea, Gort and Headford now priorities for transport studies

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Athenry, Loughrea, Headford and Gort are now priorities for upcoming transport studies.
Systra Ltd will carry out some of the studies, which must also align with each Local area plan.
The studies will look at modes of travel, options for new Active Travel measures and a traffic management plan.
Councillor Andrew Reddington explains how this has come about and outlines how it will work in Headford, for example
Breaking News
Galway slightly above national average for home vacancy rate

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway has a home vacancy rate just above the national average of 4 percent.
Across the county, 6 percent of homes are vacant, according to Gerdirectory’s Residential Buildings Report.
At the end of 2022, Leitrim had the highest number of vacancies, at 12 percent, followed closely by Mayo on 11 percent.
While Dublin has the lowest, with just one percent of homes there vacant.
Nationally, over 83,500 residential properties were vacant last month, with the report finding the West was worst affected.