IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE
The Government has forged closer links with big business and other vested interests while neglecting those in real need, says Rory Hearne, People Before Profit Alliance candidate, Dublin South East.
It is said that if something is repeated often enough then you’ll believe it.
The current Fianna Fáil/PD government certainly hopes so. Bertie Ahern and his Ministers have reiterated again and again how everyone has done so well out of the Celtic Tiger. The reality is that inequality has greatly increased, with 750,000 people at risk of poverty (a proportion higher than anywhere in the EU). Tens of thousands of families rely on charity in order to have enough to eat (St Vincent De Paul spends almost €5 million per annum on food support). Most households on social welfare or low wages are in crippling debt as they struggle to cover the rising costs of mortgages, rent, education, health costs, bin charges, ESB and Gas prices. Over 48,000 families are on social housing waiting lists around the country. How can the government deem their tenure a success?
The truth is the government has squandered the boom. It had an historic opportunity to address poverty, inadequate public services, homelessness and educational access, but instead decided to further enrich the golden circle of the developers, banks and mortgage lenders.
But it’s more sinister than that. People are dying on hospital trollies because the government hasn’t provided enough hospital beds. Privatisation means many public patients cannot afford necessary operations or attend their GP when sick. In my constituency of Dublin South East, the government is closing St Luke’s Cancer Hospital. It is illogical to close much-needed hospitals when the government has a budget surplus of billions.
The recent tragedy in Wexford highlighted the shameful lack of State support for people at risk. Hundreds of (mainly young) people are attempting suicide every year – yet support services are not available on weekends or late at night when they need them.
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