Minister Martin exposed as hypocrite

The leader of Sinn Féin on Monaghan County Council has said that Health Minister Mícheál Martin has been exposed as a hypocrite following his decision to intervene in the future of A&E services at the General Hospital in Ennis, County Clare.

Cllr Brian McKenna, who represents the people of North Monaghan on the County Council, said that Martin's intervention would be good news for County Clare but it means that Fianna Fáil has serious questions to answer the people of Monaghan.

"Minister Martin has gone against the recommendations of the notorious Hanly report in relation to the provision of services at a hospital in Clare," said McKenna. "Why, it must be asked, can the same not be done in Monaghan's case?

"Time and time again Mr Martin and Fianna Fáil representatives have told the people of Monaghan that a Minister could not intervene in the affairs of a hospital due to the Health Act of 1970. The actions of Mícheál Martin in relation to Ennis have proved that these statements were false and that this Minister, like so many Fianna Fáil health ministers before him, is a hypocrite.

"It is time for this hypocrisy to end and for the Minister to intervene to ensure that full maternity and A & E services return to Monaghan General Hospital immediately and that, as a first requirement the hospital be placed back 'on call'.

More acute beds needed urgently at Wexford General

Sinn Féin EU candidate for the East Constituency and Wexford Councillor John Dwyer has called for urgent action to sort out the crisis at Wexford General Hospital, which resulted in 30 patients being left on trolleys over the bank holiday weekend.

"The situation in Wexford General Hospital was intolerable," he said. "This is not a once off incident and will become an even more common occurrence as the hospital does not have the bed capacity to cater for the population growth in County Wexford.

"The only way to address this ongoing problem is to provide additional acute beds to meet with the increased demands. It is not good enough for the government to say that the funding is not available. It is time that they lived up to their responsibilities to the people of Wexford and provide a proper public health service."