Galway Bay fm newsroom – Operating theatres at UHG are supporting 90 sessions per week.
A further 16 sessions are being carried out at Merlin Park Hopital theatres, subject to staffing levels.
Weekend theatres and schedules on-call arrangements are in place to cover emergencies, orthopaedic, cardia and gynae procedures.
The figures were provided by Saolta management to members of the Regional Health Forum West.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A series of recommendations for flood relief works across Galway will be submitted to the OPW shortly.
It’s part of the national CFRAM project, which aims to provide flood mitigation measures across Ireland.
The matter has been discussed at County Council level, where concerns were raised about the cost-benefit requirements for flood works.
The local authority is to make its submission under the CFRAM national flood mitigation programme.
The council is hoping to secure measures including Voluntary Home Relocation, Flood Forecasting and Individual Property Protection.
One of the specific recommendations which will be made to the Office of Public Works for Galway is a flood warning system for Gort and the surrounding area.
Flood defences for Roundstone and Clifden will also be requested.
At County Council level, concerns have been raised about the cost-benefit requirements for flood works.
Loughrea area councillor Joe Byrne says the cost-benefit requirements should be reviewed to allow for more effective flood mitigation.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Traveller women tend to keep quiet about domestic abuse, instead of seeking help.
That’s according to a new policy paper launched today by Galway Traveller Movement.
The ‘Taking Action’ document has been launched in Oranmore as part of the ’16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women’ global campaign.
The document aims to break the taboo surrounding domestic violence among the Travelling community.
Galway Traveller Movement spokesperson Bridget Kelly says Travellers are leading the way in raising awareness of domestic violence issues.

We’ll have more on the document launch event on FYI Galway at 5 this evening.

Crime in Galway is down by more than one fifth according to the latest Garda statistics.
At a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee today, members were told that there have been more than 1,500 less incidents of crime in the first 10 months of this year, compared to the same period last year.
This represents a drop of 22 per cent.
The promotion of community policing and local text alerts is said to have contributed to the 51 per cent drop in burglaries, a 14 per cent drop in theft from cars and 44 per cent drop in theft from persons.
Public order offences are up by 5 per cent and Chief Superintendent of Galway Garda Division, Tom Curley, says alcohol and drugs have a big part to play in such incidents.
Assaults causing harm are also down this year with 27 less incidents reported.
Galway City received five new Garda cars and a van for the district in recent months.
Chief Superintendent Curley says investment in resources such as staff and vehicles is helping to combat crime across the city.

County councillors have voted to reject a controversial report which recommends the merging of the city and county councils.
It follows the publication of a report by The Galway Local Government Committee in October recommending the creation of a single ‘Greater Galway Authority’.
At a special meeting held at County Hall last night, there was broad agreement that a single unified body would be unable to meet the needs of Galway’s unique cultural and geographical landscape.
Galway is geographically the second largest county in Ireland and home to the largest Gaeltacht region as well as half of the country’s island population.
The county’s population of 250,000 people is larger than the combined populations of Leitrim, Sligo and Roscommon – all of which have their own local authorities.
These were some of the reasons used by councillors at last evening’s special meeting of the local authority to pick holes in the recommendation of the Galway Local Government Committee to create a ‘Greater Galway Authority’.
There was broad agreement that the unified body would come at great expense to the outlying regions of the county and would greatly widen the urban-rural divide.
Councillor Peter Roche claimed the move would be a backwards step on par with the abolition of town councils, that could only be viewed as a draconian step by those living in the county.
His colleague Jimmy McClean argued that unification would result in drastically reduced councillor numbers, which would leave many rural areas without representation.
Others felt that some urban areas, like Oranmore-Athenry, would benefit from amalgamation, while fringe areas would suffer – a situation Councillor Aidan Donohue said would amount to little more than ‘the big getting bigger, and the small getting smaller’.
Councillor James Charity offered that the county is already being left behind due to year on year funding cuts – and any amalgamation should be welcomed as it would offer increased funding for the county.
Councillor Tom McHugh made reference to frequent unruliness at City Hall – and suggested that the county is being lined up to manage Galway overall.
Others expressed hesitance to rule out a merger, with Councillor Shaun Cunniffe agreeing that city councillors have much more to be concerned about, as funding would likely flow outwards from the city.
However, after sustained debate, a vote was overwhelmingly passed – rejecting any potential merging of both local authorities and calling on Galway’s Oireachtas members to back the bid to maintain the status quo.

Design works are now underway for a major ‘Advance Office’ facility at Parkmore.
Galway is one of six locations nationwide selected for an IDA Ireland advance manufacturing and office facility.
IDA is seeking experienced developers and investors to build the 45,000 square foot building at the IDA Parkmore East Business Park.
Interested parties will provide the funding, and construct the building.
A design team for the facility has been appointed, and the design process has begun.

Drug-related offences in the city have increased by 16 percent since last year.
That’s according to the latest Garda statistics which were presented at a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee this week.
The most common drug seized in the city by Gardaí is cannabis, with more than €200,000 worth seized since January.
The second most detected drug is ecstasy, with more than 100,000 of it seized by Gardaí between January and October.
Smaller quantities of heroin, cocaine and other drugs were also seized.
Overall, offences for having drugs for sale or supply in the city increased by 16 per cent this year, with offences for simple possession up by 1 per cent.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Plans to expand Connemara Smokehouse Ltd at Bunowen in Ballyconneely have been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanala
The application has been subject to a third party appeal due to concerns regarding right of way
The plan led by Connemara Smokehouse Ltd was approved by county planners in June subject to five conditions
The project sets out to change the use of one residential apartment to commercial use as an office with reception, toilets, staff room and storage space.
This is to be used in conjunction with the adjacent existing Smokehouse building on revised site boundaries
This was appealed to An Bord Pleanala due to concerns surrounding right of way
The board has backed the decision of county planners in giving its approval, subject to revised conditions
One states the existing access road and parking bays located within the boundaries are to be maintained free of external storage or the permanent parking of vehicles.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Kinvara’s new wastewater treatment plant will be up and running early next year.
The long-awaited works are nearing completion, and the new plant is currently being commissioned.
Once the new plant is up and running in February, raw sewerage will no longer be discharged into the bay.
Local Councillor, Joe Byrne lives says it will see a welcome return of water activities at Kinvara Quay.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A technical hitch resulted in a drop in the detection of speeding offences in the city during the first ten months of this year.
That’s according to Chief Superintendent of Galway garda division, Tom Curley.
He was presenting the latest garda figures on Road Traffic Offences at a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee this week.
There was one fatal crash in the city area up to the end of October this year, while collisions resulting serious injury doubled this year from 2 to 4, compared to the same period last year.
The number of speeding offences detected is what drew the attention of most members of the committee.
Between Janaury and October last year, there were more than 6 and a half thousand incidents recorded, compared to just over 2 and a half thousand this year.
Chief Superintendent Curley explains that the drop in speeding detections was due to a technical hitch which has now been resolved.
Meanwhile, there was a drop of almost 40 per cent in Mandatory Alcohol Checkpoints by gardaí in the city in the first ten months of this year.
The JPC was told that gardaí are finding alternative policing methods to detect drink driving offences.
Chief Superintendent Curley says people are still breaking the law in the city in terms of consuming alcohol and then driving.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A nursing home in the county has been found majorly ‘non-compliant’ with standards by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
HIQA carried out a series of inspections at Lough Corrib Nursing Home in Headford earlier this year.
It found that the nursing home was not compliant with having a suitable person in charge, notification of incidents and other areas such as residents’ rights, dignity and consultation.
However, it was substantially compliant in terms of food and nutrition and its complaints procedures.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A sculpture dedicated to the leaders of the 1916 rising will be unveiled in Mervue tomorrow. (Wednesday 7/12)
A granite monument featuring the proclamation and a bi-lingual plaque outlining the history of Mervue will be unveiled at the event
The monument was designed by local engineer Gerry Hanniffy and the stonework has been carried out by the Claddagh Crafts Cottage and the Galway Salvage Gallery.
The new sculpture is localed near the Mervue bus stop – just down the road from the controversial Sinn Féin plaque which was placed at Connolly Avenue on Holy Thursday.
The unveiling of the new sculpture will take place at 1pm tomorrow (Wednesday December 7th)

Galway Hospice says it’s now ready to begin designing its new facility at Merlin Park.
13 out of 18 city councillors gave the go-ahead in last week for the site to be rezoned to allow the controversial development go ahead.
However, the move has faced opposition from groups including Friends of Merlin Woods and the Conservation Volunteers.
Both groups argue that the proposed site is of high environmental importance, and an alternative location should be sought for the hospice development.
However, in a statement, Galway Hospice says it’s deeply grateful that councillors voted to rezone the land.
It says after five years of searching for a suitable site, it can now progress to the design phase of the new hospice to meet the increasing demand for services.
Galway Hospice will begin a major fundraising drive for the new building in the New Year.

A lack of opportunities for young people in the Claddagh has been highlighted by a new NUI Galway report on city communities.

The 3-Cities Project, which focussed on two neighbourhoods in Dublin, Limerick and Galway – shed new light on the barriers to community involvement in both Doughiska and the Claddagh.

All information was provided by young people, older people and people with a disability that live in the community.

Both hugely different communities, Doughiska was chosen for its rapid development and hugely diverse community.

The Claddagh was singled out by researchers because of its status as an established inner-city neighbourhood – as well as being a place that has experienced significant neighbourhood change.

While there was much praise from local residents whom were surveyed by means of interview and focus group – some of the younger residents compared the Claddagh with other ‘younger’ areas of the city and outlined the difficulties for children living in areas with an older population.

One young female respondent compared the Claddagh to the communities to the west of the city and described how life might differ for a child growing up there – even noticing a developments in the short time since she was a young child.

“There was a good group of us when I was younger . . . I see my friends who live in like Shantalla or Knocknacarra . . . they can just go across the road and go to their friends house or they just meet up.

“There is no one really there for her [younger sister], she has to go to Knocknacarra to meet her friends. If she is at home she has to stay there is nothing to do around the place,” she explained.

Concern arose in the report about the “gentrification” of the area and the difficulties associated with trying to develop a community when a large number of people are either not from the area or just purchasing houses to use as holiday homes.

One older resident recalled how in the 1950s, she knew a very different Claddagh to the one that exists today.

“Well going back to the early 1950s, we used to go in a group down to Lydon House, and we’d get the bread and we’d deliver them to the poor people, particularly in Claddagh – some of the people would be standing on the door waiting for us to come and some of the ladies – they were in their bare feet.

“So it was a very poor area of Claddagh. Now it’s the crème-de-la-crème of the city, but in those days, it was very poor,” he said.

Also evident from the responses of locals was that there is a real sense of belonging existing amongst those who were born and reared in the Claddagh – something that is hard for newer residents to tap into according to one respondent.

“She actually said to myself and [my friend], ‘You will never be Claddagh, you’re only blow-ins,” she said as she recalled an incident between her and someone who had roots firmly in the former fishing village.

The report concluded that there was a strong sense of community in the Claddagh with customs including the King of Claddagh all adding to a sense of local identity.

There is no money in the budget to redo road surfaces across the city that many complained were inferior to previous roadworks, a top Council official has warned.

The state of the Western Distributor Road and its roundabouts as well as the Menlo Road and several Knocknacarra estates was first raised by Independent Councillor Collette Connolly in a discussion about a local government audit.

She asked whether the Council retained bond money for road contracts, such as the recently completed Western Distributor Road, which she described as substandard and “a shambolic disaster for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists”.

Cllr Pearce Flannery said the work was “shoddy, cheap and a disgrace” and he tabled a motion calling on the Council address the deficiencies in the road surfaces where “topping” was “a major problem”.

Senior engineer at Galway City Council Uinsinn Finn said the road was not mentioned in the audit under the auditor’s damning assessment of the Council’s procurement policies and procedures.

Much of the work was carried out by the Council’s own direct labour crews.

A micro-surface had been carried out on the Western Distributor Road and several other roads rather than do a full overlay, which would have cost six times the cost of the micro-surface.

“The contractor accepts there are some issues at the roundabout,” he stated. He added that some of the issues were caused by the laying of road material during very warm weather last year.

Director of Services for Roads and Transportation Joe O’Neil said the Council would be examining the issues.

Galway City Chief Executive Brendan McGrath asked that councillors to wait and discuss the various roads at area meetings and come up with measures to address them.

“I don’t have the money in the budget to redo them,” he warned.

Four people have been taken to hospital following a crash outside Loughrea.
The two-car incident happened just before 8 last evening on the N65 link road between the motorway and Loughrea town.
Emergency services attended the scene and the occupants of both vehicles were taken to hospital as a precaution.
Gardai understand that their injuries are not life threatening.
The road remains open, but Garda traffic management is in place while an investigation is carried out at the scene of the crash.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Price, availability and marketing in relation to alcohol are the biggest areas which need to be tackled, according to Galway Alcohol Strategy.
The group gave a presentation to members of the City Joint Policing Committee this week.
Evelyn Fanning told members that there are 281 licences for selling alcohol issued in the city.
A survey reveals that 1 in 4 people experience harm due to someone else’s drinking.
74 per cent of people surveyed say they would support a ban on alcohol advertising to young people.
Evelyn Fanning says that the focus going forward is on enforcement of the legal purchase age for alcohol, reduce the secondary purchase of alcohol by parents or siblings, identify hotspots in the city for public order offences and limit drinking in public places.
Councillor Frank Fahey said he would support raising the legal drinking age to 21, but Councillor Declan McDonnell disagreed and said that would only increase illegal drinking.
Councillor Padraig Conneely argued that most public events are now sponsored by drinks companies and the biggest tent at this year’s Christmas market in Eyre Square is the Biertent.
He said a lot of what is discussed surrounding tackling alcohol abuse is just ‘lip service’.
Chief Superintendent of Galway garda division, Tom Curley told the JPC that gardaí are now enforcing new city council bye-laws regarding public drinking.
He added that people have to look out for each other on nights out, particularly as the festive period gets underway.
Gardaí told the JPC that they will be able to provide figures for tickets issued for illegal on-street drinking, now that new bye-laws are in place.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Annaghdown local action committee will meet today to discuss the potential establishment of a charitable company to run a new cemetery.
A public meeting held in recent weeks voted overwhelmingly for the move, as the long-running search for a suitable site continues.
The existing cemetery in Annaghdown is at full capacity and has been for some time, but considerable efforts to secure a suitable site have so far proved fruitless.
To date, nine sites have been examined, but excessive land prices, protected statuses, and unsuitable conditions and have all scuppered plans for expansion.
At a recent meeting in Dublin, the local action committee was informed that the preferred site, adjacent to the current cemetery, is not suitable due to its protected status.
A further site located across the road is now currently under investigation.
A public meeting held in recent weeks voted overwhelmingly to establish a charitable company, limited by guarantee, to take responsibility for a new cemetery.
The local action committee will now meet this evening to discuss such a move, in the hope of advancing the search for a new cemetery for Annaghdown.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Six wastewater treatment plants across the county are to be upgraded.
Irish Water has confirmed that it intends to carry out works at plants in Mountbellew, Ballygar, Athenry, Ahascragh and Glenamaddy – as well as the upgrade of the Tuam plant.
Mountbellew and Ballygar are at an advance stage of the design process, and the Ahascragh project is likely to go to construction next year.
Meanwhile, design works are underway for the Newbridge facility.
Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Michael Connolly, says the upgrades are vital to the economic development and residential capacity of Galway’s rural communities.
Councillor Connolly says strategic towns like Athenry are in desperate need of investment to meet development demands.

Leisureland has secured flood cover on its current insurance policy.
The complex has repeatedly been flooded over recent years due to its location adjacent to the shoreline in Salthill.
The refurbished facility reopened in December 2014 after flood defence work was completed.
At a meeting of Galway City Council, councillors were advised that the policy is subject to an excess of €200,000.