Mary Lou-McDonald criticises lack of detail on health in new Government agreement
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou- McDonald has lashed out at the Fianna Fáil/ Fine Gael agreement over a lack of detail on health
Speaking this afternoon, she criticised both parties for not addressing the medical card system which requires people to go through the “indignity and trauma of shouting loudly and bringing press attention upon their case” to get their cards reinstated.
She said: “We have had sight of the agreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, it certainly looks like a programme for Government although it is not to be called that as Fianna Fáil attempt to both straddle government and opposition at the one and same time,” Ms McDonald said.
“In reading the document one of the most alarming features of it is that it doesn’t have any heading or section that addresses issues of health. There are references to the health service in the document and we believe at this stage they need to be challenged."
She said Sinn Féin share the concerns of the IMO who spoke out about the health service today.
“You would never believe reading the document that there are 430 people on hospital trolleys today.
“We read in the document a commitment to continue the humanitarian approach to discretionary medical cards. The approach to medical cards and discretionary medical cards has been anything but humane or humanitarian. We would like Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to state precisely what they mean by that.
“They believe, it seems, that there has been a humane approach in respect of these medical cards, that’s not the case.
"I think you will all remember individual situations where very sick children, including children who were so disabled that they needed to be fed through tubes, had their medical cards removed,” Ms McDonald said.
