Pat Treanor says that Government must listen to the people

Clones Sinn Féin Town and County Councillor, Pat Treanor, has said the voice of the people must be heard by the Government after tens of thousands of people marched in support of a fairer way to deal with our economic problems last Friday.

Speaking after attending the regional rally in Dundalk Cllr. Treanor said the Government must listen to the alternative proposals being put forward by Sinn Féin and the Unions to bring us to economic recovery without attacking the least well off in society and cutting public services.

Cllr. Treanor said:

“Friday’s rallies were a massive show of protest against the Government and support for a better and fairer way. I want to congratulate the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the workers from both the public and private sectors and the members of the public who came out in their thousands at the regional march in Dundalk. It was heartening to see so many people from County Monaghan make it their business to be there.

“The Government must listen to the voice of the people. More than 100,000 people came out on Friday to say loud and clear that they will not accept Government attacks and that a better and fairer way must be brought forward.

“And the fact is that there is a better and fairer way. Sinn Féin is finalising its pre-budget submission to Government in which we outline how the €4billion the government wants to close in the deficit can be met without attacking the least well off or cutting public services.

“The Government must start listening to the alternative proposals being put forward by both Sinn Féin and the Unions.”

“Future generations to shoulder the burden of NAMA” – Carthy

Speaking at a Sinn Féin meeting in Carrickmacross this week local Town and County Councillor, Matt Carthy, criticised the Government for proposing €4billion cuts in public spending while spending €54billion bailing out an elite of bankers, developers and property speculators.

Cllr. Carthy said:

“These are dark days for this country. Local Fianna Fáil councillors can sit back and feign mock compassion but in reality they do not have to live with the anguish that faces ordinary families – otherwise they could not have voted against motions to Monaghan County Council and Carrickmacross Town Council opposing NAMA - the political class is not just out of touch, it is downright rotten.

“The truth is that Fianna Fáil, with the support of the Green Party, have successfully screwed over the people.

“NAMA will see Irish workers on low wages, the unemployed and those dependent on social welfare thrown overboard to make room in the lifeboat for an elite of bankers and developers whose greed has brought the 26 County state to the brink of bankruptcy.

“The total cost of the NAMA robbery will be €54 billion. That’s approximately €12,000 for every man, woman and child in this state. But this is a necessary robbery, according to Fianna Fáil councillors. The banks lent too much to a small number of profit-mad greedy developers and the government cheer-led the whole sorry saga with billions in tax-breaks, and now our banking system has collapsed. The taxpayer is being made to step in with €54 billion and bail out the banks, the developers, property speculators and a corrupt government.

“We are now facing a situation where the government is telling us it must reduce the public spending deficit by €4 billion this December, while at the same time, it is arranging borrowing of over €54 billion to buy toxic loans from irresponsible banks. It has set up a ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’ to keep this borrowing off the government balance sheet, in an attempt to make it look like the country is borrowing less than it actually is. In truth, our public deficit would more manageable and we could even create a stimulus, as Sinn Féin’s pre-budget will show, if the NAMA plan were scrapped.

“The real damage of NAMA will not be known until it is too late. Already shreds of information are being revealed which show the involvement of private developers and investors in its operation. NAMA is the politics of postponement. The true damage of it will not be seen until this government is gone. It will be future generations of Irish people that will shoulder the heaviest burden of this legislation. And local Fianna Fáil representatives will protest that it had nothing to do with them – I sincerely hope that the Irish people see through them.”

Regional Authority Backs Carthy’s call for restoration of Christmas Bonus

The Border Regional Authority has unanimously endorsed a motion by Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor, Matt Carthy, calling on the Government to immediately restore the Christmas Social Welfare payment.

At a meeting of the Border Regional Authority held in Dundalk Cllr. Carthy proposed that that body add its voice to the growing number of public authorities demanding a reversal in the government’s decision to attack those claiming social welfare payments this Christmas. Cllr. Carthy said failure to restore the payment would push thousands of people into the hands of ruthless money lenders this Christmas and would severally impact on local businesses.

He said: “The cut of the Christmas Social Welfare payment will cause untold hardships for families and irreversible damage to local economies throughout the state including my own home town of Carrickmacross.

“Most low-income families shop locally and many will be forced into the hands of unscrupulous money lenders should these cuts be made. It is paramount that the government prioritises the needs of those who are already in financial difficulty at this particular time of year.”

Cuts and overcrowding increase danger of hospital infections – Ó Caoláin

Commenting on the serious outbreak of the C Difficile hospital-based infection in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Sinn Féin Health & Children spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that current and further proposed cutbacks in hospital services, as well as hospital centralisation, would make the battle against the infection much more difficult. He said:
“There is great concern in the North East region and across the country at the situation in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. For over a week now this serious infection outbreak has seen three wards and 70 beds closed, most ambulance and GP referrals sent to other hospitals and a bar on visitors. The coroner has been notified of four fatalities in which C Difficile may have been a contributory factor.

“The Lourdes is the largest hospital in the North East region covering Counties Cavan, Louth, Meath and Monaghan. It is already greatly overstretched, not least because of the removal of acute services from Monaghan General Hospital last July, resulting in greater pressure on the Lourdes and on Cavan General Hospital.

“This situation is set to worsen with the planned removal of acute services from the Louth County Hospital at Dundalk at the end of the year. Overall, the Government and HSE policy of centralisation of hospital services, as well as current and further proposed cutbacks affecting staff and other resources, will make the battle against hospital-based infections much more difficult.

“In the Dáil last week Health Minister Mary Harney admitted the inadequacy of the hospital system to address C Difficile, MRSA and other hospital-based infections because of the lack of single rooms in which to isolate patients. This need was raised many times with the Minister and her predecessor, including by myself, but no effective action was taken when the resources were there. Now they plead lack of resources.

“It is long past time that this Minister and this Government stopped playing Russian roulette with citizens lives. I call on Brian Cowen, Mary Harney and company to restore our hospital services across the North East, to restore patient safety to its deserved importance, to abandon their co-location and privatisation agendas and, by these actions, help restore public confidence in our public health system.”