Cllr Pat English – Notice of Motion 52
“That Tipperary County Council provide 2 speed ramps at Ashgrove Lawn in the interest of public safety, the residents of Ashgrove Lawn are very concerned for the safety of the large amount or young children who live in the area.”
The Council have stated that they will consider this request in future roadworks programmes as the 2014 roadworks programme has already been agreed.
Speaking in the Dáil Deputy Seamus Healy has called on Minister Alan Kelly T.D. to commence an emergency house building programme to tackle the housing crisis now affecting over 2,500 families in Tipperary and almost 90,000 families nationally.
2,546 families now languish on Tipperary County Councils housing waiting list and face years waiting for accommodation.
Successive Governments have abandoned families to the tender mercies of the private market and that has been an abject failure condemning families to homelessness and years of waiting for accommodation in substandard conditions.
As President Michael D. Higgins said recently “You can’t leave the provision of housing to a residual feature of the market place. We have done that and homelessness is a consequence of that”
The previous Fianna Fail/Green Party Government stopped building local authority houses and that failed policy has been continued by the current Fine Gael/Labour Party coalition.
Minister Alan Kelly T.D. must reverse that policy and commence an emergency house building programme to tackle the issue.
There are huge social and economic benefits to such a programme.
It would be self-financing. Thousands of building workers could be put back at work saving on social welfare payments and increasing exchequer income through PAYE returns. Significant savings would be made on the €350m per year paid to private landlords through rent supplement.
Such a programme would boost local economies and retail trade, create sustainable employment and provide good quality accommodation. Rental income to local authorities would also be significant.
An emergency house building programme would be a win, win situation for all concerned, it is a no brainer and Minister Kelly should grasp the initiative immediately.
Seamus Healy T.D.
087 2802199
23/09/14
Deputy Seamus Healy has told the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Leo Varadkar to keep their hands off the Emergency Department at South Tipperary General Hospital.
Cuts to services at South Tipperary General Hospital must not be allowed become a political football within Fine Gael between Taoiseach Kenny and Minister Varadkar.
A Document leaked from the HSE states that one of the measures which may be necessary due to budgetary cuts is the closure of several A&E services between 8 in the evening and 8 in the morning. These include the A&E service at South Tipperary General Hospital.
This would be completely unacceptable. It would amount to the effective denial of health services to those living outside the larger cities, a vicious form of discrimination. After dark, the nearest A&E services would be situated in Limerick, Cork and Waterford. Indeed the A&E service should also be restored to Nenagh General Hospital.
We have had enough health and hospital cuts, far too many in fact.
South Tipperary General Hospital Budget has been cut by almost 25% or €11million over the last few years and it has lost over 100 staff.
This year, 2014, has seen a further €1.7 million cut to the budget.
Over the same period, activity at the hospital and patient numbers has increased significantly and the hospital is operating at 120% capacity on an on-going basis.
The hospital has been put under severe pressure: staff are working above and beyond the call of duty and despite their best efforts are struggling to provide a safer service.
Deputy Healy has called on all Government Oireachtas Members in County Tipperary, Ministers, T.D.’s and Senators to ensure a full Accident and Emergency Department Service is maintained at South Tipperary General Hospital.
Workers & Unemployed Action 