Today it came to light that Brendan Drumm will receive a bonus of €70,000 for services rendered in 2007. The HSE Health Minister Ms Harney insisted that the approval of the bonus paid to Mr Drumm should not be a matter for her as Minister of Health.“The last thing we need is a meddling minister getting involved in contractual issues around individuals,” said Ms Harney.
This refusal to have a say or even to take a position on the affairs of her own department (Yes, Mary is Minister for Health) says it all about this government and health.
You see today was also the day that the Save Our Hospital Group met John Gormley in Leinster House. We met Mr Gormley because he failed to attend a rally last Thursday and we wanted to hear what his party were doing to save our A&E and Acute Medical Services. We asked Martin Bellew, chair of Dundalk Town Council, along. We learned that this cabinet member is content to let the HSE make dangerous decisions.
Today wasn't exactly a waste of a journey. We heard first hand how little John Gormley cares about our plight. Today we heard him ask what our needs were, what the situation was with maternity and what we were willing to negotiate on. John needs to learn that we have nothing to negotiate. Our hospital will only save lives if we have A&E and Acute Medical. But John should have known that as he promised on the 16th April 2007 tht he would save these services. John should have known that maternity was stolen in 2001 as he was the Green's spokesperson on health.
Today was not a waste of a journey because we now know that the Green Party have made no demands for us. They have not tried to raise our plight. What was a "key demand" in 2007 and a "deal breaker" last week has been put on the bottom of a compost bin.
Today we learned that the Green Party dont care, have done next to nothing, and will only go through the motions when pushed. We learned that a cycle path from Barna to Oranmore is higher up their list than the wards in a hospital.
So what if sections of the media think I am pushy on this issue. So what if Fianna Fáil try to portray me as emotional on this issue. I am pushy and emotional about the hospital and am proud to be.
If the people of Dundalk read Mary Harney's comment;“I have total confidence in the board of the HSE and I must say I think the CEO of the HSE [Prof Drumm] does a fantastic job,” there will not be enough defibrillators, blood pressure tablets or beds in all of Ireland to deal with the effects.
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