25 February 1999 Edition
SF votes no confidence in Health Minister
``Health is for sale as a commodity in Ireland today'' - Caoimhghín O Caoláin
Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O Caoláin supported the motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health and Children Brian Cowen in the Dáil last week. The vote was won by the Fianna F.il/Progressive Democrats government by three votes and was followed at the weekend by the announcement of £50 million for hospital facilities in Tullamore, in the Minister's own constituency.
While the people of Brian Cowen's Laois/Offaly political base are not begrudged the allocation, its timing can only be an act of favouritism as the embattled minister looks to the possibility of an early general election. Speaking in the debate on 17 February Caoimhghín `` Caoláin said that the government was presiding over a failed health system despite the economic boom. We carry here his D.il contribution:
Many Members cited the tens of thousands of people on hospital waiting lists.The figures speak for themselves, but they can never speak as eloquently as the individual men, women and children in desperate need of health care, who are forced to endure pain and anxiety while waiting for attention in our public hospitals.
Let me cite the case of a young constituent of mine who has suffered from tonsillitis for a long time. It has made life a misery for her. Her future career prospects have been affected because she has had to suspend her studies due to the debilitating nature of her condition. She requires a simple straightforward operation to remove her distress, yet she is told she must wait another year before getting that operation.
I received a copy of a letter to another of my constituents from a surgeon. He writes to the family doctor of this three year old child, again describing the severe symptoms of tonsillitis, from which she suffers. Once again a simple operation could end her and her distraught family's ordeal, but she too must wait. At the end of the letter the surgeon notes that he can arrange for the operation to be done privately.
Tonsillitis is not a life-threatening condition. It does not require hugely expensive care or complicated surgery. However, in a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, this State cannot manage to provide the resources to treat it promptly.
In this case we see exposed the inequality at the very heart of our health service. Neither this Minister nor any of his predecessors have seriously challenged this inequality. It is an absolute obscenity that in Ireland in 1999 a person with sufficient financial resources of their own or with sufficient borrowings can walk past the queues in our public hospitals and receive immediate care, often within those same institutions and from the same consultants. Health is for sale as a commodity in Ireland today.
The debacle of Tallaght Hospital has been mentioned by many speakers. I wish to mention briefly one aspect of it. Parents of children suffering from leukaemia have been forced to come together to resist the threat from the Minister for Health and Children to close down the haematology and other units in Tallaght and move them to Crumlin children's hospital. The Minister's handling of this issue has been appalling. He refused to respond to the parents for three months and only met them last week after their newly-formed campaign group CHILD received nation-wide publicity. This group of parents is totally disillusioned with the Minister's approach. Their anger and disillusionment is shared by patients and staff across the health services. They have no confidence in the Government's ability to manage the services on which the health and well-being of their children depends. I must concur with their judgment and support this motion.
Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O Caoláin supported the motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health and Children Brian Cowen in the Dáil last week. The vote was won by the Fianna F.il/Progressive Democrats government by three votes and was followed at the weekend by the announcement of £50 million for hospital facilities in Tullamore, in the Minister's own constituency.
While the people of Brian Cowen's Laois/Offaly political base are not begrudged the allocation, its timing can only be an act of favouritism as the embattled minister looks to the possibility of an early general election. Speaking in the debate on 17 February Caoimhghín `` Caoláin said that the government was presiding over a failed health system despite the economic boom. We carry here his D.il contribution:
Many Members cited the tens of thousands of people on hospital waiting lists.The figures speak for themselves, but they can never speak as eloquently as the individual men, women and children in desperate need of health care, who are forced to endure pain and anxiety while waiting for attention in our public hospitals.
Let me cite the case of a young constituent of mine who has suffered from tonsillitis for a long time. It has made life a misery for her. Her future career prospects have been affected because she has had to suspend her studies due to the debilitating nature of her condition. She requires a simple straightforward operation to remove her distress, yet she is told she must wait another year before getting that operation.
I received a copy of a letter to another of my constituents from a surgeon. He writes to the family doctor of this three year old child, again describing the severe symptoms of tonsillitis, from which she suffers. Once again a simple operation could end her and her distraught family's ordeal, but she too must wait. At the end of the letter the surgeon notes that he can arrange for the operation to be done privately.
Tonsillitis is not a life-threatening condition. It does not require hugely expensive care or complicated surgery. However, in a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, this State cannot manage to provide the resources to treat it promptly.
In this case we see exposed the inequality at the very heart of our health service. Neither this Minister nor any of his predecessors have seriously challenged this inequality. It is an absolute obscenity that in Ireland in 1999 a person with sufficient financial resources of their own or with sufficient borrowings can walk past the queues in our public hospitals and receive immediate care, often within those same institutions and from the same consultants. Health is for sale as a commodity in Ireland today.
The debacle of Tallaght Hospital has been mentioned by many speakers. I wish to mention briefly one aspect of it. Parents of children suffering from leukaemia have been forced to come together to resist the threat from the Minister for Health and Children to close down the haematology and other units in Tallaght and move them to Crumlin children's hospital. The Minister's handling of this issue has been appalling. He refused to respond to the parents for three months and only met them last week after their newly-formed campaign group CHILD received nation-wide publicity. This group of parents is totally disillusioned with the Minister's approach. Their anger and disillusionment is shared by patients and staff across the health services. They have no confidence in the Government's ability to manage the services on which the health and well-being of their children depends. I must concur with their judgment and support this motion.