Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway’s Ceannt Station is hosting the county’s flagship event for Mental Health Ireland’s awareness campaign tomorrow.

The ‘Hello, How Are You?’ campaign is encouraging people to check in on one another.

There will be events taking place all over the county, with involvement from the local universities, GRETB, Galway County Council, Galway City Partnership and Family Resource Centres.

Aine Hurley, Galway’s Development Officer for Mental Health Ireland, explains what’s happening at the train station tomorrow from 8-11am

Galway Bay fm newsroom – County councillors have been venting their frustration at the high level of planning refusals across Galway.

A meeting this week heard claims the system seems to be set up to “screw” the public.

Planning wasn’t expressly on the agenda at this week’s meeting of Galway County Council but quickly came to dominate discussions at County Hall.

There’s frustration among councillors at the high level of refusals, inconsistency in planning decisions, and the difficulties facing those trying to build in their local area.

A key concern is the rejection of clusters of 5 homes or less in rural towns and villages, despite the county development plan specifically backing such developments.

Councillor Ivan Canning said so much time, effort, frustration and money can be spared if there’s more focus on pre-planning meetings.

Councillor Declan Geraghty went a step further and said the system seems to be set up to screw the public rather than help them.

County CEO Jim Cullen took exception to that remark and said planning staff are doing a very difficult job with limited resources and huge workloads.

He said he appreciates councillors venting their frustration but advised planners cannot simply grant permission for everything and have to work within guidelines.

He added while it’s easy to focus on one reason for a planning application being refused, there are typically several factors involved.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Ballinasloe has now secured representation on the County Joint Policing Committee.

The JPC is a forum that brings together senior Gardaí with local councillors, TDs and community stakeholders to discuss policing and crime issues across Galway.

But until now, Ballinasloe was the only district in the county that didn’t have a representative.

That’s now been rectified, with the appointment of Councillor Declan Geraghty this week.

Councillor Geraghty says it’s vital that all areas have a voice.