Enniscorthy Sinn Féin welcome hospital announcement

Enniscorthy Sinn Féin have welcomed the announcement that missing funding for the vital extension work to Wexford General Hospital has been found. Enniscorthy Sinn Féin Cllr Johnny Mythen said that he commended the decision to go ahead with this essential project and that he felt his party’s campaign to highlight the missing hospital funding had played a significant role in the government’s announcement.

“The Sinn Féin organisation in County Wexford is delighted and surprised,” Cllr Mythen said. “We view this as a victory for the people of County Wexford who supported our ongoing campaigns to safe guard our hospital. The decision to proceed with the project gives a great boost to staff and patients at Wexford General. We say well done to Minister Howlin and well done to all the hard working Sinn Féin supporters for their time, effort and commitment during our recent campaign to highlight the missing funding. I’m sure that everyone’s hearts are lifted by this great news.”

South East SF Senator calls for speedy resolution to Aer Lingus dispute

The Sinn Féin Senator in the South East has called for a speedy resolution to the Aer Lingus dispute. Speaking yesterday, Waterford Senator David Cullinane said;

“I regret that talks between Aer Lingus management and the Irish Airline Pilots Association have broken down without agreement. While I welcome the news that some progress had been made during recent talks I am concerned that the roster arrangement issues have not been significantly addressed by the company.

“It is unacceptable that Aer Lingus management is trying to force pilots to work longer stretches to compensate for a shortage of pilots at the company. The management’s assertions that this is about pilot productivity do not stack up. Under the current roster arrangements pilots only get one day off after working for six days straight. This issue is as much about passenger safety as it is about terms for the airlines pilots. I welcome statements from both parties that they stand ready for further talks. I hope that such talks can resume as quickly as possible so as to address the valid concerns of the pilots and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for passengers.”

Wexford Sinn Féin welcome hospital announcement

Wexford Sinn Féin has welcomed the announcement that the vital extension project at Wexford General Hospital will now go ahead this year after missing funding was apparently located.

Shortly after entering government, the coalition announced that a much needed upgrade was to finally go ahead at WGH, featuring a new A&E and obstetrics unit. This project was to cost €21 million and according to a high level Wexford Labour Minister at the time, the funding was secure. Two days later it was revealed that this funding was missing.

Wexford Sinn Féin immediately began a campaign to get to the bottom of what happened to this missing funding. It seemed that other groups such as Wexford Labour and the Wexford Hospital Alliance group were also planning investigations. This never materialised and their silence was deafening.

When SF Cllr Anthony Kelly placed a motion before Wexford Borough Council calling for an investigation into what had happened to the missing funds, it was voted down by Fine Gael and Labour Councillors. Minister Howlin appeared on local radio and stated that it was his view that the money had never existed. One local Labour Cllr blamed Fianna Fail. Another blamed the HSE. We were half expecting them to blame the IRA.

When Wexford Sinn Féin protested outside Wexford General demanding answers over the missing €21 million, other groups stayed away. Some of them implied that we were being silly and that it was clear that funding for the hospital did not exist. Our prominent Labour Minister stated that Wexford SF were only good for giving out and that it was obvious that the €21 million had never been there. When we asked why he hadnt checked its availability before giddily announcing the project on local radio like an excited school girl, he was once again silent.

Yesterday our prominent Labour Minister announced that funding was available for the hospital project. Wexford Sinn Féin fully welcomes the announcement and takes pride that our councillors and members played a significant role in 'locating' the missing hospital funds.

North Wexford Remembers Michael Gaughan

County Wexford republicans gathered in North Wexford last Thursday night to remember hunger striker Michael Gaughan. A good crowd assembled at the 1798 monument in Gorey to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by the Mayo man 37 years ago.

The Chairman of the Ed O' Brien Gorey Cumann, Liam Morris, called for a minutes silence for genuine reflection on the life and death of Michael Gaughan, before the wll loved balled "Take me home to Mayo" was played.

The next hunger strike commemoration will be in memory of Joe McDonnell, and will be held in Enniscorthy on the 8th of July. Further details will follow.

Uniting Ireland - It makes sense

Sinn Féin will be holding two conferences in June on the theme of "Uniting Ireland".

The conferences are titled: Towards a New Republic – I dtreo an Poblacht Nua.

They first will be held in Dublin on Saturday June 18th in the Rotunda Pillar Room Complex, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 beginning at 10am.

The second conference will be on Saturday June 25th in Cork City Council Concert Hall beginning at 7.30pm.

Details are available at www.unitingireland.ie

Ray McCreesh & Patsy O' Hara remembered in New Ross

A vigil was held in New Ross yesterday to remember hunger strikers Ray McCreesh and Patsy O' Hara on the 30th anniversary of their deaths. Heavy rain and the Leinster match couldnt keep Wexford Republicans away, who gathered in numbers to commemorate the lives and deaths of these young Irish men.

Wexford Sinn Féin Cllr Anthony Kelly and Enniscorthy Sinn Féin Cllr Johnny Mythen were among those who attended the event, which was organised by the County Wexford '81 committee. Further events will be held throughout the county to mark this anniversary year.

“The people of Wexford must become more intolerant”. Wexford SF stage protest at WGH

Members of Wexford Sinn Féin held a protest at Wexford General Hospital last Friday evening to demand an investigation into the missing €21 million which had been allocated for vital extension work at the hospital.  The protest followed a Sinn Féin motion calling for an investigation being defeated at the last meeting of Wexford Borough Council by the combined votes of Fine Gael and Labour reps.  Wexford SF Cllr Anthony Kelly said that there would be “regular and escalating” protests at Wexford General Hospital until the government made a genuine statement as to what happened to the funding instead of “sweeping the whole issue under the carpet.”

“What we need now is definitive answers and accountability from the top," Cllr Kelly said,  "What happened to the funding for our hospital?   Was it ever there or was it diverted elsewhere?  Some people have been playing political games with the future of the acute services of Wexford hospital.  Prior to the last election, Enda Kenny said the following about Wexford General; ‘The A&E department as it presently exists is unfair to patients and also to staff’.  Mr Kenny promised changes if his party entered government.  Sinn Féin will be calling on the Taoiseach to honour his promises about WGH in the Dail, at local council meetings and at protests like this one.”

Enniscorthy Cllr Johnny Mythen said;  

"The people of Co. Wexford and all the staff of Wexford General Hospital deserve a straight answer to a direct question.  Where did the 21million for the new A&E and the new maternity unit go? Will we have another U turn like we witnessed with the mental health acute centre at St. Senans hospital?  Wexford general hospital belongs to the people of Co Wexford.  In a true republic the people are supreme.  The Sinn Fein party in Wexford believe that the response of the Government to this question and the rejection of Cllr. Kelly’s motion calling for a public investigation into the disappearance of the €21million is an indication that nothing has changed to protect the future of our hospital.  This is why we wish to continue to support all the staff in Wexford General and the people of Co. Wexford in making sure this issue will not be going away."    

"This issue goes beyond politics and I’m calling on people of all political faiths to join us," Cllr Kelly said,  "To quote our current health Minister, It’s time for the people of Wexford to become more intolerant.”

Hospital is not “a waste of money” – Kelly

  Wexford Sinn Féin Cllr Anthony Kelly has described the refusal of the Fine Gael/Labour members of Wexford Borough council to support an enquiry into the missing €21million earmarked for Wexford General Hospital as aiding and abetting those who were responsible for losing it.  Cllr Kelly said that his party will highlight this treacherous act against the people of Wexford, and will be holding protests outside the hospital until the money is located or replaced.  Responding to claims by labour councillors that an enquiry would be a waste of money, Cllr Kelly said that, “Anything which could benefit Wexford General Hospital and the patients who use it, will never be a waste of money.”

 

Cllr Kelly said;

“I’m stunned that councillors elected by the people of Wexford town decided to vote against a motion to find out what happened to this vital funding. The purpose of calling for an investigation is to find the answers to this political mystery.  After all this new coalition Government promised total accountability.”

 

“The coalition’s account of this missing money leaves more questions than answers.  If the money never existed, why did Minister Howlin say it was there and ready to be used? How can our new government continue to blame the last one for their own failures when they are now in office for nearly three months? Why has Dr James O’ Reilly reneged on promises he made to the people of Wexford about WGH prior to the election? These are serious questions and deserve to be answered in a professional manner by people who know what they’re talking about.  Instead our local Labour and Fine Gael councillors dismissed the issue as unimportant and not worthy of investigation.  Try telling that to the patients who are sleeping on trolleys in Wexford General tonight!”

 

Wexford Sinn Féin will be continuing their ongoing “ Save Wexford Hospital ” with a protest outside the hospital this Friday evening at 7.30pm.  All who want to know what happened to the hospital funding and want to see Wexford General protected are welcome to attend.

 * Pictures from the long running Sinn Féin campaign for a better services for staff and patients at Wexford General Hospital

Tax the rich not the poor

“An unfair and unjust tax,” is how a member of Enniscorthy town council summed up the Universal Social Charge during a protest calling for its immediate abolishment on Gorey’s main street last Saturday.  Sinn Féin members handed out leaflets giving reasons why the USC should be abolished, and asked passersby to sign postcards calling for the abolishment of this controversial tax.  Wexford Sinn Féin will be delivering these postcards to Leinster House in the coming weeks.

“We in Sinn Féin stand firm against the Universal Social Charge,” Sinn Féin Cllr Johnny Mythen said.  “It is an attack on the incomes of ordinary people that just cannot be afforded.  It is a completely unfair tax that takes the same percentage from people earning €16,016 per annum as it does from someone earning €100,000 per year.   This tax needs to be abolished and instead the Government should work on building a fairer tax system by creating a progressive tax base that taxes fairly and equalises wealth.”

“Before they entered government, the Labour party felt the same way as Sinn Féin about the Universal Social Charge.  They even campaigned for its abolishment during their election campaign.  Now they have performed a total U-turn on this stance to the point where Wexford town labour councillors voted against a Sinn Féin motion calling for the abolishment of the Universal Social Charge last week.  The Labour party must stop procrastinating and make their policy on the USC known.  Are they for this unfair tax or against it?  The people of Wexford need to know now!”

Cllr Mythen recently had a motion calling for the abolishment of the Universal Social Charge unanimously passed by Enniscorthy Borough council.  It was supported by local Labour and Fine Gael Council members.  The same motion was defeated on Wexford Borough council by the combined votes of Fine Gael and Labour members.

Cllr Mythen’s motion read; That Enniscorthy Town Council: Acknowledge that the Universal Social Charge is an unfair and regressive tax, is having a detrimental effect on the lower and middle class incomes of our constituents and the entire working population of our Country. Therefore we call upon the Government to abolish the Universal Social Charge.

Royal Visit

Some sections of Irish society wish to celebrate the visit of The English Queen, Elizabeth Windsor, this week.Some may even want to wave the Union Jack. That is their right.  However,one would hope hope that this section of our people will also understand and accept that many other Irish citizens are politically opposed to this visit, and will respect their democratic right to do so peacefully.

It is premature and will cause great offence to many Irish citizens, particularly to those who have lost loved ones at the hands of the British state forces in Ireland. The timing, on the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings is particularly insensitive. It is widely believed that this attack, involving the greatest loss of life of any incident in the conflict, was carried out with the involvement of British intelligence. To date no files on this atrocity have been released.

This visit is being presented as a signal that we are leaving the past behind us. But the British monarchy is all about the past.  It is based on a set of values, that belong more to middle-ages and which I believe most Irish people do not share. It stands for hierarchy, sectarianism, deference and inequality. Elizabeth Windsor claims to be monarch of part of our country. However, the values she represents have no place in Ireland.

The British monarchy is intrinsically linked with the British military. Most of the royal family command British regiments, and the queen herself has been commander in chief of the British armed forces for over sixty years. These forces have been responsible for the murder of Irish citizens, north and south.(Incredibly, the commander of the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday, Col. Derek Wilford, was later decorated by the queen!)
 The British establishment continue with a policy of cover up in relation to many deaths during the recent conflict.

We are living in changed and changing times and thankfully many are  working towards the normalisation of relationships between the people of these two islands based upon mutual respect and equality.  But it is incorrect to suggest any such relationship currently exists and therefore it is premature (and unwise in a time of recession) to invite the English queen to this part of Ireland to be feted and celebrated, at massive cost and inconvenience to members of the public.
 It is particularly bizarre to witness the sycophantic, cap-doffing attitude among some sections of Irish society towards English royalty. (Amusingly, some were even disappointed that their names didn't make the invitation list for state functions!)
Who could ever forget the,infamous words of the last Fine Gael Taoiseach on the occasion of the visit of England's Prince Charles (and colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment) to Dublin in 1995. Many in this nation, who class themselves as "citizens" rather than subjects, must surely have cringed when Mr. Bruton stated that Charles Windsor "represented so much of what we aspire to as a people". Let's hope  we will not witness a repeat of such cap-doffing nonsense this week.

Let me conclude with a quote from James Connolly, whose anniversary occurred just last week. He stated, "a people mentally poisoned by the adulation of royalty can never attain that spirit of self-reliant democracy necessary for the attainment of social freedom."

 -Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin