24 November 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Sinn Féín General Election Candidate Cllr Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has said that he decision by Nurses to take industrial action illustrates the total failure of the Government to get to grips with the crisis in the Health System
He said;
“Our Healthcare system is increasingly going from crisis to crisis, and the Government has to take responsibility for that. That is despite the extraordinary efforts of the ordinary medical staff in the system.
“No one takes the decision to go on industrial action lightly. But the nurses are under enormous pressure, from overcrowding and difficult conditions, and in that context I entirely respect and support their decision to take such action. That the vote in support of action was an overwhelming 92% reflects the depth of feeling among Nurses.”
“This is the outcome of several years of cutbacks to our frontline healthcare services, and the Government’s failed policies. Fine Gael promised to end the scandal of hundreds of patients on trolleys. This very afternoon, after nearly a full term in office, there are 339 patients on trolleys across the state.
“In October, there were people 133 on trolleys in the Mercy and 544 people on trolleys in CUH”
“The Government has failed to deliver, and their ‘plan’ for health care has been shown to be a sham. It is coming apart at the seams. The much heralded Universal Healthcare has been abandoned.”
“The Government is not serious about tackling this crisis. Committing a mere €18 million additional Health funding in the Budget for 2016, while favouring tax cuts for higher earners illustrates that perfectly.”
“In Sinn Féin’s Budget 2016 proposals, we provided an additional €383m to tackle the crisis in the health system in year 1 alone. We proposed to recruit 2,500 nurses over five years if in government, with further recruitment envisaged in a second term of office. The Government needs to consider interventions of that kind to tackle this crisis.”
