Sligo County Council has unanimously adopted a motion submitted by Cllr Declan Bree, which calls on the European Union and its member-states to accept the verdict of the Irish people and rejects the calls for a further referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. It was also agreed that the resolution be circulated to all other councils.

Speaking at the Council meeting Cllr Bree said, "In last months Referendum the people of Ireland exercised their right as citizens of a sovereign nation to reject the Lisbon Treaty.   The Lisbon Treaty is now dead.  The rules are absolutely clear.   If all 27 member states do not pass the Lisbon Treaty it does not pass into law.

"However within hours of our referendum result being announced the European elite in Brussels, Berlin and Paris, were insisting that the Treaty is still alive, that the ratification process should continue and that Ireland must vote again.

"Some of these people were the same people that were telling us that the Lisbon Treaty would enhance democracy in the European Union

"The arrogance of the European elite in calling for a re-run of our referendum clearly confirms that they have learned nothing and have no respect for democracy.

"The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, spoke clearly after the result of the referendum was announced when he said ‘the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box is sovereign. The Government accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people’.

"We must now insist that the European elites accept and respect the will of the Irish people as expressed at the ballot box, just as they accepted the will of the French and Dutch people when they rejected the precursor to the Lisbon Treaty.

"I therefore propose that 'Recognising that the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box is sovereign, and recognising that if all member states of the EU do not ratify the Lisbon Treaty it does not pass into law, and further recognising that the people of Ireland exercised their rights as citizens to reject the Lisbon Treaty, this Council rejects the calls from Europe to re-run the Lisbon Treaty referendum, and we call on the EU Commission, the EU Council of Ministers, the EU Parliament and the authorities in the other EU states to accept and respect the verdict of the Irish people, as they accepted the will of the French and Dutch people following their decision to reject the EU Constitution.'   Cllr Bree's motion was seconded by Cllr Sean MacManus of Sinn Fein and was unanimously adopted by the Council.

A shortfall of over one million Euro in the Department of the Environments allocation to Sligo County Council to fund the Council’s Disabled Persons and Essential Repairs Grant Schemes and Housing Adoption Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability has plunged the Council’s housing grants scheme into crisis.

Independent Socialist Councillor Declan Bree, said today that the cut-back in funding would lead to the collapse the Councils Housing Grant Schemes programme and would leave many elderly and disabled people on low incomes without the necessary grant aid to carry out required works on their homes.   “It is a savage attack on the elderly and the disabled. There can be no excuse for the Government imposing such cut-backs.” Cllr Bree said.  

In its annual budget for 2008, Sligo County Council provided a budget of €1,734,000. under the heading of Housing Grant Schemes, with an anticipated income from the Department of the Environment of €1,460,000.   This figure was estimated based on existing commitments at the time and taking account of increases in maximum grant levels and additional expenditure arising from the transfer of the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme from the HSE to the local authority sector.   However the Council has now been notified by the Department of the Environment that the total allocation in respect of the Grant Schemes for 2008 is €491,790 and the Department has indicated that €131,144 of that sum is to be provided from the Council’s own resources.  This reflects a total capital allocation from the Department of only €360,646.

To date in the current year the Council has already allocated and paid out €303,313 in grants.  (44 Disabled Persons Grants €163,324) (16 Essential Repair Grants €90,611)

(2 Housing Adaption Grants for People with Disability €7,742) (7 Housing Aid for Older People Grant €30,871)  (3 Mobility Aids Grants €10,783)

The Council also has commitments of €536,425 which is required to cover the cost of 123 grants which have been approved by the Council but which have not yet been claimed by applicants.   

In addition the estimated cost of a further 93 grant applications currently being processed but not yet approved by the Council is in the sum of €584,465.

Cllr Bree said that another 59 grant applications which have been received by the Council have not yet been processed and Council officials are now understandably reluctant to process further applications.

“Given the fact that we are only half way through the year and we already have a €1 million shortfall it’s clear that the Councils housing grants scheme is on the verge of collapse.    The Council doesn’t even have the money to cover the grants which have already been approved to date and without additional funding from the Department the grants scheme cannot continue.” he said.

“It would appear that our Dail Deputies and Oireachtas members are asleep or have no interest in looking after the interests of the people of this constituency.   Earlier this month I highlighted the fact that Government funding to Sligo Borough Council  for the construction or purchase of local authority housing had been cut-back by €1 million.  Now we have this further Government decision to reduce funding for the County Council’s grants scheme which will affect many on low income, particularly the disabled and the elderly.

“When we consider these issues in addition to the Governments proposal to close down the breast cancer service in our general hospital it must be clear to all that Sligo’s representatives in Leinster House – T.D’s and Senators, have failed dismally to look after the interests of the people of this community.” Cllr Bree said. 

 

This is a wonderful result for Ireland and for Europe, said Cllr Declan Bree, the campaign Director for the People’s Movement, following the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

“The establishment here in Ireland aided and abetted by the European elite thought that they could take the people of Ireland for granted. They thought they could brow beat and frighten people into voting yes. They have got their answer loud and clear.

“The establishment and in particular the leadership of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens have lost touch with the ordinary people. And it is clear that the leadership of the IFA, and the ICTU aren’t far behind.” said Cllr Bree.

“Did they really think that the people of Ireland were going to surrender their sovereignty and sell their souls in exchange for a flawed Treaty that was essentially already rejected by the people of France and the Netherlands.

“I wish to pay tribute to all those participated in the campaign against the Treaty – despite the odds and the David and Goliath battle, they have succeeded. I would particularly pay tribute to all those people who voted No.

“I know today that ordinary people all over Europe will be rejoicing at this decision. The citizens of the other 26 EU states have been denied the opportunity to vote in a Referendum and they looked to Ireland in the hope that we would say No to Lisbon.

“We have now delivered for Ireland and for Europe.” Cllr Bree said.

“And we must now ensure that the Government, Fine Gael and Labour and the Brussels elite respect the decision of the Irish people. The Lisbon Treaty is dead. There can be no re-run of this referendum. The people of Ireland have spoken - they have rejected the Lisbon Treaty and what it stands for. Should there be any attempt to ignore the decision of the people it will lead to a situation where ordinary people will lose whatever remaining confidence they have in the democratic and political process in this country.

“This is a great day for Ireland and for the people of the European Union - Democracy has triumphed - the people have triumphed.” Cllr Bree said.

“The Treaty of Lisbon if ratified would create a new Federal European Union which would be politically and constitutionally profoundly different from the EU which we are members of today.” the Deputy Mayor of Sligo, Cllr Declan Bree, told a meeting organised by the Forum on Europe in Sligo this week.

“While the same name, "The European Union", would be used before and after the referendum the fact is that if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, the new European Union would be a fundamentally different constitutional/political entity from the European Union that we are currently members of.

“The European Union we are members of today is generally a descriptive term for the various areas of co-operation between its 27 member states.

“If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified it would give the new Union which it would establish the constitutional form of a supranational European Federation. That Federation would have all the powers of a fully-developed State apart from the power to force its member states to go to war against their will.

“If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified it would make us citizens of this new European Union for the first time, as against our being notional or honorary EU "citizens" at present.

“The Constitutional amendment to ratify the Lisbon Treaty would then make the laws, acts and decisions of the new European Union superior to the Constitution and laws of Ireland and would effectively turn Ireland into a province of this new EU Federation, which would be run on the most undemocratic lines.

“Ireland would become a province, not a nation, once again, in the precise and literal meaning of the word "province". said Cllr Bree

“In essence it has to be said that the Treaty is a revamped version of the European Constitution which was rejected in referendums in 2005. It is now repackaged and described as the Lisbon Treaty.

“Instead of accepting that 2005 decision, the EU Prime Ministers and Presidents decided to give the EU a Constitution indirectly rather than directly, but they decided not to call it a Constitution for fear people would reject it again.

“And as I said the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty would then make the laws, acts and decisions of the new European Union superior to the Irish Constitution and laws and would effectively turn Ireland into a province of the new EU Federation.

“The Irish Constitution would still remain, but “Declaration 17 concerning Primacy”

which is attached to the Lisbon Treaty, makes clear that the law of the new European Union would have primacy over and be superior to the Irish Constitution and laws in any case of conflict between the two. This has not been stated in any previous European Treaty.

“Like every other State this new European Union would sign Treaties with other States in all areas of its powers. It would have its own political President who would receive ambassadors to the EU and sign Treaties and important laws in its name. He/she would effectively be head of state of the European Union, superior to the heads of state of the member states and would be selected for a term of two and a half years, renewable once.

“The new EU would have its own Foreign Minister and foreign and security policy, its own diplomatic service and its own voice at the United Nations. It would also have its own Public Prosecutor. It would make most of our laws and would decide what our basic rights are in all areas of EU law. It would have all the main features of a sovereign State in the international community of States, apart from the ability to make its Member States go to war against their will.

“The Lisbon Treaty also proposes to reduce the number of EU Commissioners from the present 27 to 18. Ireland would therefore have no member on the Commission, the body which has the monopoly of proposing all EU laws, for one out of every three Commission terms.” Cllr Bree said.

“This means that for five years out of every fifteen, laws affecting all our lives would be put forward entirely by a committee of EU officials on which there would be no Irish voice. The big EU States would lose their right to a permanent Commissioner too, but their size and political weight give them other means of exerting influence on this key body.

“The Commission President could ask a Commissioner to resign at any time, just as a Taoiseach may do with his cabinet, so the Commissioners would be fully under the control of the Commission President.

“The new Commission would be very like an EU Government, with the Commission President having powers like a national Prime Minister, except that this government would not be elected by the citizens

“If the Treaty is ratified it would replace the voting system for making EU laws that has existed since the 1957 Rome Treaty. The new system would be primarily a population-based system which would give most influence to the member states with big populations and reduce the influence of smaller States like Ireland.

“Putting EU law-making and decision-taking on a primarily population basis would fundamentally change the consensus culture on the EU Council of Ministers. The smaller member states would be less needed by the big states than before, and their interests would therefore be less likely to be taken into account.

“I would also point out that the Lisbon Treaty provides that if one-third of National Parliaments object to the Commission's proposal for an EU law, the Commission must reconsider it, but not necessarily abandon it. It might reword the draft law, or if it considered the objection was not justified, it might ignore it. This right to complain, for that is what it is, is not an increase in the powers of national Parliaments, as it has been widely misrepresented as being, but is symbolic rather of their loss of real power.

“In effect t he Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for Ireland. It gives the EU too much power and reduces our ability to stop decisions that are not in Ireland’s interests.

“The fact is that the Lisbon Treaty will involve the most substantial transfer of powers from member states to the European Council and Commission to date. The influence of smaller states will be reduced as the dominance of the larger states is consolidated.

“The militarization of the EU will be accelerated and an economic agenda based on a race to the bottom for wages and workers rights will be greatly advanced. At EU level we see the incremental development of an EU Army, in all but name.

“The Lisbon Treaty is the most serious challenge facing anyone who cares about social justice. It will lock Europe into a straitjacket of privatisation and makes little provision for a social Europe.

“The Services Directives and other directives coming out of the EU are part of a sustained attack on the social gains, struggled for and secured by Irish and European workers over many decades.

“It is very clear that the Lisbon Treaty will further consolidate the power of capital and concentrate power in the hands of an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels.

“This treaty provides for a massive shift of power from the nation states of the EU to Brussels and will effectively make us revert to being a province of mainland Europe...the northwest corner.” Cllr Bree concluded.

 

“Irelands two tier health system is fundamentally unjust and undemocratic and makes a mockery of the principle of cherishing all of the children of the nation equally. Cancer services are being closed down in our public hospitals while hundreds of millions of Euro in subsidies is being provided to the speculators who are preparing to build private co-located hospitals on the grounds of our public hospitals.” the Deputy Mayor of Sligo, Cllr. Declan Bree, told those attending the Connolly Forum Annual Easter 1916 Commemoration Ceremony in Sligo on Easter Sunday.

Led by flag-bearers carrying the Tri-colour and the Plough and the Stars, a large number of participants marched from Cairns Drive to the Republican Plot in Sligo cemetery to hear Cllr Bree and guest speaker Mr Niall Farrell address the ceremony.

Cllr Bree, who presided at the event said “Here in Sligo cancer care services are to be shut down by the government while those who can afford private medical care will be looked after. That is what the free market profit led approach to health favoured by Fianna Fail and the P.D.’s, has delivered for us.

“The proclamation of 1916, the founding document of the Irish Republic, set out the vision of an Ireland politically and economically independent, an Ireland in which all the children of the nation would be cherished equally. It is against this measure that we look at the Ireland of today and ask ourselves how far the ideals and values of Easter 1916 have been realised.” he said.

“And today it has to be said, we live in a time when there is a deep cynicism and a significant distrust of politics and everything associated with political life in this country.

“The ongoing revelations of corruption, the shady dealings in the planning process, the evidence forthcoming at tribunals, have clearly undermined public confidence in the entire political system.

“And in this context, I believe that we as Socialists and progressives must highlight the fact that despite the levels of sleaze and deceit, no left wing representative in any part of this country has been in any way associated with the corruption of our political and planning system.

Cllr Bree said that the public representatives who support speculators and who vote to privatise public services have betrayed the very people they claimed to represent.

Mr Niall Farrell, a founder member of the Galway Alliance Against War, during the course of his oration said, “The leaders of the 1916 Rising took up arms to fight foreign control of Ireland’s destiny. Those of us who will campaign for a No vote in the forthcoming Lisbon referendum are doing the same thing by different means. If the Lisbon treaty is passed Ireland would become a province not a nation once again. The EU will be controlled by a profoundly undemocratic constitution with our sovereignty and democracy as an independent state abandoned.

Mr Farrell questioned what right Bertie Ahern had to call anyone a ‘loo-la’. “This is the man while Minister for Finance, who kept his money under his mattress – and he calls us loo-las. Worse, this is the man while Minister for Finance who gave away vast amounts of Ireland’s mineral wealth – the oil and gas reserves – for free to foreign multinationals. These resources could fund a free and inclusive health service, a free and inclusive education system. Any politician who would do this is either a loo-la or deeply corrupt.

Mr Farrell also argued that the socialist and anti-war movements should reclaim the legacy of the Easter Rising back from the Fianna Fail gombeens. “The Easter Rising was to achieve independence and prevent Irish involvement in the carnage of World War I. Connolly’s slogan in 1916 was ‘We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland”. Our slogan throughout the Iraq war has been: “We serve neither Bush nor Blair but Ireland”. Alas, the Irish government – led by Taoiseach Ahern – has colluded in this conflict and continues to collude. One million US troops have travelled through Shannon and over 1 million people have unnecessarily perished in this conflict. Those who sit at the Irish cabinet table all have blood on their hands.” Mr Farrell said. Mr John Dunne, Chairman of the Connolly Forum, read the 1916 Proclamation.

Following the oration as a lone piper played a lament, Ms Philomena Dunne, laid a wreath on the Republican Plot on behalf of the Connolly Forum. The ceremony concluded with the National Anthem.

 

Speaking at a public meeting in the Glasshouse Hotel in Sligo  organised by The People’s Movement,  former Green Party MEP, Patricia McKenna strongly criticised what she called the “sheer arrogance and disregard shown by political leaders throughout the EU for the wishes of the voters.  Ms. McKenna, who is Chairperson of the Peoples Movement, an organization campaigning against the Lisbon Treaty in the forthcoming referendum, said, “Regardless of the fact that voters in France and the Netherlands have rejected the EU Constitution, it has been renamed, repackaged and put back on the table as if nothing had happened.”

Ms. McKenna said, “There is almost unanimous agreement among EU leaders, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, that the substance of the rejected Constitution hasn’t changed. "The difference between the original Constitution and the present Lisbon Treaty is one of approach, rather than content ... The proposals in the original constitutional treaty are practically unchanged. They have simply been dispersed through the old treaties in the form of amendments.” Says Giscard D’Estaing the former French President and Chairman of the Convention which drew up the original text.”

Ms. McKenna went on to say, “The blatant conspiracy by EU governments to deny their electorates the right to vote on this treaty is an affront to democracy. To quote French president Nicolas Sarkozy: "France was just ahead of all the other countries in voting No.  "It would happen in all member states if they have a referendum. There is a cleavage between people and governments...A referendum now would bring Europe into danger. There will be no treaty if we had a referendum in France, which would again be followed by a referendum in the UK." So basically what we have is fundamental change without the consent of the citizens.

“EU leaders openly admit that they have taken the rejected EU constitution and renamed and repackaged it in an unreadable format.  Giscard D'Estaing said: "Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly... All the earlier proposals will be in a new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way...What was [already] difficult to understand will become utterly incomprehensible, but the substance has been retained."  “The conspiracy to push this through against the wishes of the majority of citizens of EU member states in undeniable”, she said.

Also speaking at the meeting was the Secretary of the People’s Movement, Frank Keoghan who said that, The People’s Movement would be playing a major role in the forthcoming referendum and would be striving to ensure that Irish people are not bullied into submission by the powerful and well-resourced political establishments of Dublin and Brussels.

Mr. Keoghan said, “This treaty is unacceptable for many reasons not least because it is a fundamental shift of power from the small to the big EU States, from National Parliaments to non-elected EU committees – the Commission, Council of Ministers and Court of Justice.”

“What we are going to vote on will have profound ramifications not just for Ireland but for the future of the EU as a whole.”  The military aspects alone should be reason enough to reject it, he said.  “It obliges Ireland to build up its military capacities while consolidating the European Defense Agency, whose purpose is to promote the arms industries.  It allows for EU military operations without a UN mandate and includes a mutual defense clause, things that peace activists have always opposed.”

He pointed out that “The Renamed Constitution states unambiguously in Section 2, Article 27 (2) that: "The common security and defence policy" it proposes "shall include the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy. This will lead to a common defence.

Member States must "make civilian and military capabilities available to the Union for the implementation of the common security and defence policy …" and  "undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities."

This means there would be an EU constitutional obligation on Ireland to provide military resources to the EU for its security and defence policies and to increase military spending through the European Defence Agency in order to ensure compatibility. There is also a ‘solidarity clause’ that proposes a mutual defence pact – similar to that of NATO. This “solidarity clause” has even been extended by Lisbon to cover the supply of energy and other issue.”

Councillor Declan Bree, who presided at the meeting said, “the Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for Ireland.  It gives the EU too much power and reduces our ability to stop decisions that are not in Ireland’s interests.

“It is very clear to me that the Treaty has failed absolutely to address the democratic deficit within Europe; despite promises made by European leaders over the last two years. 

“The fact is that the Lisbon Treaty will involve the most substantial transfer of powers from member states to the European Council and Commission to date.  The influence of smaller states will be reduced as the dominance of the larger states is consolidated.

“The militarization of the EU will be accelerated and an economic agenda based on a race to the bottom for wages and workers rights will be greatly advanced.  At EU level we see the incremental development of an EU Army, in all but name, at home the use of Shannon airport by US troops on their way to wage war in Iraq.

“The Lisbon Treaty is the most serious challenge facing anyone who cares about social justice. It will lock Europe into a straight jacket of privatisation and makes little provision for a social Europe.  The Services Directives and other directives coming out of the EU are part of a sustained attacked on the social gains, struggled for and secured by Irish and European workers over many decades. 

“It is very clear that the Lisbon Treaty will further consolidate the power of capital and concentrate power in the hands of an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels.

“The fact that Ireland will lose its right to a permanent EU Commissioner is an issue of real concern.   As a small nation we will be affected by the particularly insidious loss of influence of the small nations in favour of the large nations.  We will be outside the Commission, the body with the monopoly on proposing all EU laws, for five years at a time.  This plus the change in the council voting system, whereby population size with be deciding factor, will significantly reduce our influence.

“This treaty provides for a massive shift of power from the nation states of the EU to Brussels and will effectively make us revert to being a province of mainland Europe...the northwest corner.” Cllr Bree concluded.

 

 

At its meeting in Galway this week the Regional Health Forum West adopted a motion proposed by Cllr Declan Bree, calling on the Government to provide a health service that is democratically accountable and efficient and capable of delivering universal access to quality healthcare.

Speaking to the motion Cllr Bree said, “When the Government created the HSE it clearly and deliberately created a vehicle to implement Government policy, a vehicle that is run by faceless bureaucrats drawn from all parts of the country, who appear to be answerable to no one but the Minister for Health.

“When the regional health boards existed details of budgeting and proposed changes in services were brought before the members of the Health Board and considered and voted on.

“This was an open and transparent system where elected representatives and representatives of medical staff and nursing staff and others had the opportunity of debating important matters with senior management, and of voting on plans that would affect the future of medical services in their respective region - and of course this was all covered by and published in the local media.

“The staff of the Health Boards were accountable to the members of the board and the elected councillors on the health boards were in turn accountable to the people who elected them to office.” said Cllr Bree.

“However in the period since the Government abolished the Health Boards and established the HSE, openness, transparency and public accountability have become a thing of the past. Democratically elected T.D.’s and Councillors have been sidelined.

“The senior management and bureaucracy in the HSE appear to be accountable to no one other than the Minister.

“We know that over the past number of years that the number of higher and middle management in the health services have increased dramatically.

“In the year 2000 there were six Grade VIII officials in the health service, by 2006 that had increased to 602, an increase of 9,843%. The number of Grade VII’s increased from 496 to 917, an increase of 118%. The number of Grade VI’s increased from 484 to 1,014 an increase of 106% and the number of Grade V’s had increased from 663 to 1,484, an increase of 124%.

“In the most recent report of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration when it referred to pay levels for managers in the HSE including National Directors, Assistant National Directors, Hospital Network Managers, Directors of Regional Health Offices and Managers of Local Health Offices, the review body found it difficult to work out what these officials should be paid because it couldn’t figure out what precisely many of them do and who they report to. And I must admit I can’t figure out what many of these officials do.” said Cllr Bree.

“With the exception of people like Dr Sean Conroy and his staff who service this Forumit has been my experience in the period since I became a member of the Forum that many senior HSE officials feel they are answerable to no once and that they can do as they wish. On numerous occasions I found that my correspondence to them was ignored. When I asked legitimate questions relating to the health services senior officials refused to answer the questions. In fact last year I had to request the Office of the Ombudsman to intervene in order to elicit a response from one of these senior officials. The notion of democratic accountability is foreign to many of these people.

“In the period since this Regional Health Forum was established we have had numerous and well considered discussions and debates relating to the state of the health services in this region. We have adopted many motions and made many recommendations relating to the improvement and development of the health services and copies of all these motions and recommendations were forwarded to Professor Drumm, and the Health Service Executive.

“However to date we still have not had a response from the HSE to any motion or recommendation adopted by this Health Forum. As I said to Professor Drumm at our September meeting, it would appear that when they reach the Health Service Executive in Dublin they are placed in a filing cabinet never to be seen again.

“The Governments decision to hand over day to day control of the health services to the HSE was deliberate and it is now obvious that the Government and Minister Harney are hell bent on implementing an agenda that favours private medicine at the expense of our public health service. They are clearly responsible for creating the present crisis in the provision of health services.” Cllr Bree said.

Cllr Bree then proposed the following motion which was adopted by the Forum: “That the Regional Health Forum West deeply concerned with the HSE’s lack of democratic accountability, and further concerned at the growth of the two-tier health system, and further recognising the inability of the HSE to provide a universal high quality health care service to the people of this country, calls on the Government to provide a public health service that is democratically accountable and efficient and capable of delivering universal access to quality healthcare.”

 

 

“To rezone the racecourse and sell it off to developers and speculators for housing and commercial development could only be described as an outrage.  It would be a desecration of one of the most wonderful natural amenities we have in Sligo.” the Deputy Mayor of Sligo, Cllr Declan Bree, told a Public Meeting organised by the People First group in the Abbeyquarter Community Centre in Cranmore this week.

Cllr Bree said that if the people of Sligo wanted the racecourse area to remain zoned as a green area for recreation they must make it clear to councillors of all political persuasions that any attempt to rezone all or any portion of the land at the racecourse is unacceptable.

Ms Jenny Conlon, of People First who chaired the meeting said that one of the objectives of the People First community group is to campaign for the retention and protection of all the green areas including Cleveragh, which are zoned as Open Space/Green Links in the current city development plan.

“This public meeting is one in a series we intend holding so as to raise public consciousness on the matter and to encourage members of the public to lobby their elected representatives so as to ensure that there will be no attempt to rezone green areas.” she said.

Local historian, Ms Fiona Gallagher, praised the “Great vision of the Corporation in the 1940’s in purchasing the Cleveragh demesne for use as a public park.”   She pointed out that the estate was paid for the “the pennies of the people of Sligo”. 

During the course of his address Cllr Bree told the meeting “The land at Sligo racecourse at Cleveragh was purchased by Sligo Corporation some 60 years ago to provide green space and a recreation area for the people of Sligo.

“While the area has been closely associated with horseracing over the decades, the increasing use of the land at the racecourse in recent years by athletes and by runners and walkers both young and old is a clear indication that the ordinary people of this community are claiming ownership of what is theirs by right. 

“However revelations in the media that the County Manager has been in secret negotiations with representatives of Sligo Race Company with a view to having the race meetings moved from Cleveragh to an alternative racecourse developed at Cloonamahon is clearly a matter we should take note of.

“Councillors were not told of these negotiations nor have we been told what plans the County Manager has for the lands at the racecourse.

“We do know that only four years ago when the Sligo City and Environs Development Plan was being considered for adoption, the County Manager and his officials recommended that councillors rezone the lands at the Racecourse to allow for  housing development.

“Thanks to the outcry from the general public at the time, and thanks to the campaign initiated by the Save Our Green Areas committee, councillors rejected the County Managers recommendation and unanimously voted in support of a motion which I proposed, that the lands at the Racecourse be retained for recreation and zoned as Public Open Space/Green Links.

“I would point out that elected councillors and County Managers in the past had the foresight to recognise the wonderful amenity value of the racecourse lands.  

“Not only did they take the land into public ownership but they also ensured that it was protected and retained as a green area.    And in the bad times - during the 40’s and 50’s and even in later times when Sligo Corporation was strapped for cash, no councillor or official ever suggested rezoning the racecourse lands to sell off for housing development.

“Now, at a time when Sligo is growing, when new housing estates and apartments are being constructed all over the city, when there was never more need for green areas for recreation, we have this issue raising its head once more.

“The County Manager says that given the areas proximity to the town centre and the very significant amount of open space identified in the area it would be unreasonable to maintain the entire racecourse free from development.   I totally reject that view.   Given the area’s proximity to the city centre is all the more reason for retaining it as a green area.   And I would again ask how in the name of goodness is it ‘unreasonable’ to want the area retained as a green area for sport and recreation.

“The Borough Council agreed in the past to develop recreational facilities in the centre of the racecourse while retaining horse racing and I am aware that the Racecourse Management Committee confirmed that it is willing to co-operate with the Council in this regard.   In the event of the racecourse company deciding to relocate to another area I firmly believe that all the land which is currently leased should be used for sport and recreation purposes.

“The racecourse and Cleveragh is one of the few remaining green areas remaining in Sligo.  It is zoned in the City Development Plan as Open Space/Green Links.  It is in public ownership.  To rezone the racecourse and sell it off to developers and speculators for housing and commercial development could only be described as an outrage.  It would be a desecration of one of the most wonderful natural amenities we have in Sligo.” Cllr Bree said.

Local historian Ms Fiona Gallagher told the meeting that Cleveragh demesne was originally the home of the Martin Family, later to be Woodmartin, and as far back as 1864 the demesne, consisting of 270 acres of landscaped park and woodland was opened to the public on the occasion of the Royal Agricultural Society’s Show.  She said the demesne was opened to the pubic on a regular basis between then and 1916.

“In 1947, Cleveragh demesne, consisting of 298 acres, 98 of them woodland, was purchased by Sligo Corporation for use as a public park” she said.

“The purchase price was £10,500 – about £300,000 sterling today.  It was considered a ‘Bargain Price’ at the time.   Alderman Eamonn Tolan was the driving force behind the purchase along with the then Town Clerk Mr Bradshaw.   Alderman John Fallon, described the acquisition of the demesne as ‘One of the greatest coups brought about by the Corporation since it was formed in 1612.’

“A significant portion of the estate was leased to the Sligo Race Committee in the 1950’s and the first races were held there in August 1954.”

Ms Gallagher praised the “Great vision of the Corporation in the 1940’s in purchasing the Cleveragh demesne for use as a public park.”   She pointed out that the estate was paid for the “the pennies of the people of Sligo”. 

“The land at the racecourse should not be rezoned and sold off.  It should be held in trust for future generations.   It has excellent potential for sports and recreation – it is flat, large, well drained, and accessible.   It is vital as a green lung for the Borough.   It is a unique environmental asset.” Ms Gallagher said.

 

“There can be no excuse, no justification, for the decision to close the breast care unit in Sligo General Hospital.” Cllr Declan Bree told this weeks meeting of Sligo Borough Council

“The unit here operates to the highest standards and is serviced by experienced and highly qualified and highly respected staff that are second to none in this country.” he said.

“And it must also be pointed out that we are a gateway city providing a quality public medical service to the people of this region. And it must also be pointed out that the people of this community intend to ensure that this quality public health service is maintained, despite the Governments proposals to close it down.

“Minister Harney and the Government clearly have an agenda to undermine and subvert the role of our public hospitals and to undermine and subvert the role of our public health service.

“In the period since Mary Harney agreed to take up the health portfolio, she and the Government have set about implementing an agenda that favours private medicine at the expense of our public hospitals and that has created crisis after crisis in our public health service.

“When the Government created the HSE it clearly and deliberately created a vehicle to implement Government policy, a vehicle that is run by faceless bureaucrats drawn from all parts of the country, who appear to be answerable to no one but the Minister for Health.

“When the regional health boards existed details of budgeting and proposed changes in services were brought before the members of the Health Board and considered and voted on.

“This was an open and transparent system where elected representatives and representatives of medical staff and nursing staff and others had the opportunity of debating important matters with senior management, and of voting on plans that would affect the future of medical services in the region - and of course this was all covered by and published in the local media.

“However in the period since the Government abolished the Health Boards, openness, transparency and public accountability have become a thing of the past.

“The Governments decision to hand over day to day control of the health services to the HSE was quite deliberate and the Government cannot now be allowed to perform a Pontius Pilate act. The HSE is implementing Government policy. It is an instrument of Government.

“The Government and Minister Harney are responsible for creating the present crisis in the health services and they must now be forced to move to resolve it. They must now be forced to immediately reverse the outrageous decision to shut down the Breast Care Service in Sligo General Hospital.” Cllr Bree said.

Calling on the County Manager and Council officials to take legal action to shut down an unauthorised Ashphalt Plant at Aughamore, Cllr Declan Bree, told this weeks meeting of Sligo County Council, “Earlier this year this County Council was left with no option but to bring legal proceedings against Lagan Ashphalt Ltd which was operating an unauthorised Asphalt Plant at Aughamore. When the Council sent warning letters to the company indicating that the plant did not have planning permission and that it was unauthorised, the company arrogantly said it was authorised. It was only when the Council brought the matter before a Judge in the District Court that the company admitted that it did not have planning permission. The Judge said that the plant was set up in a “cavalier attitude” and the company was found guilty and fined by the Court.

“The Court was then told by the company that the Ashphalt Plant would not be used until such time as it got planning permission.

“The Court was also told that a proposal had been made to bring a mobile asphalt plant on to the site.

“We are now aware that within a short period a mobile plant was brought on to the site by Irish Asphalt Ltd.

“We are also aware that the mobile asphalt plant has been operating illegally without an Air Pollution Licence since it began operating. On the 9^th of March this Council wrote to Irish Asphalt Ltd advising them that it is an offence under Section 30 (1) of the Air Pollution Act 1987, to operate a plant without a licence. However apart from that letter the Council took no action what-so-ever to shut down the illegal plant.

“Local residents from the Aughamore area are outraged and totally frustrated at the ongoing failure of Council officials to take action against the illegal plant and to implement the law of the land.

“Again the local community has witnessed a powerful company act in a cavalier fashion without any regard for the health of local people or for the law of the land.

“They have pointed out that as the plant is unlicensed there is no monitoring of emissions and no sampling of emissions by the Council or any independent authority.

“Licensing systems for such plants were specifically introduced because of the significant risks associated with their operation and to ensure that air quality standards and regulations and EU Directives are adhered to.

“Licences deal with such matters as emissions to the atmosphere, monitoring of emissions, recording and reporting of sampling, analysis and measurements carried out, the matter of site inspections by the Licensing Authority and the issue of notifying the Licensing Authority of any malfunction or breakdown of control equipment which would identify emissions liable to cause pollution and contamination in an area.

“Asphalt plants mix gravel and sand with crude oil derivatives to make the asphalt used to construct roads. These plants can release significant level of chemicals to the air during production, including toxic air pollutants such as arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, and cadmium. Other toxic chemicals are released into the air as the asphalt is loaded into trucks and transported from the plant site, including volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and very fine condensed particulates. This is the reason why strict licensing, monitoring and controls are necessary.

“In this context and given the significant risks associated with such plants, it is unacceptable that the County Council has not acted over the past eight months to shut down the unlicensed plant.

“There is every likelihood that the atmosphere in and around Aughamore is being poisoned on a daily basis by emissions from this illegal plant.

“The U. S. Federal Environmental Protection Agency states "Asphalt processing and asphalt roofing manufacturing facilities are major sources of hazardous air pollutants such as formaldehyde, hexane, phenol, polycyclic organic matter, and toluene. Exposure to these air toxics may cause cancer, central nervous system problems, liver damage, respiratory problems and skin irritation."

“The residents of Aughamore want to know, and I want to know, why have officials of this Council refused month after month, since March, to take action to have the illegal mobile asphalt plant shut down?

“Residents are also anxious to know if this Council has been purchasing and using material which has been manufactured in the illegal plant? Residents are anxious to know if officials from this Council have some type of cosy arrangement with this company?

“In any other jurisdiction the Licensing Authority would have applied to the Courts for an injunction to shut down the illegal plant. This plant has been operating illegally for over eight months, poisoning the atmosphere in Aughamore adjacent to Lough Gill, and this Council has still not sought an injunction to shut it down.

“Is there one law for powerful and influential companies like Irish Asphalt and another for everyone else? Is it some type of Banana Republic we are living in where major companies can ride roughshod over the rights of ordinary people and local communities? “ Cllr Bree asked.

High level meetings that are deciding the future of Cranmore are taking place in secret, behind closed doors and the elected representatives of the people are being deliberately refused the right to observe what is happening, said Independent Socialist Councillor Declan Bree, when he addressed the Community Soapbox event organised by the Cranmore Community Co-operative at the weekend.

Cllr Bree said “The Cranmore Regeneration Project was established because of significant concerns about the estate including inadequate quality of housing stock, early school leaving, increasing levels of anti-social behaviour, lack of adequate youth, sport, childcare facilities, etc

“The Regeneration Steering Group that was established was to take responsibility for the planning and implementation of the project and it was agreed that the community would be involved in defining what the local needs are, how they should be prioritised and met.

“In this context community representatives were elected to the Steering Group. And of course the Cranmore Community Platform, now the Cranmore Co-operative was established to provide a voice for the people of the area.

“However on the basis of recent reports made to the Borough Council it is clear that the original reasons for establishing the Regeneration Project are being diluted.

“Earlier this year the goal posts were changed and we were told that in order to secure Regeneration status there was need for a revised framework plan which must take in broader planning objectives including items such as the proposed new Eastern Bridge and Eastern Distributor road, other adjacent lands, and that the plan must include provision for bringing the private sector aboard i.e. commercial interests, speculators and developers.

“Of course we should not be surprised at this move. It has been my experience that every time significant sums of public or EU funding becomes available for a particular social or community project, the private sector and the speculators try to cash in on it.” said Cllr Bree.

“And there is a significant danger that if we are not vigilant and if we don’t stand united, that it will be the developers and speculators who will benefit most from the funding that is supposed to be targeted at the people of Cranmore.

“Following a report to the Borough Council in March this year, my suspicions were raised and I proposed that the four East ward councillors would accompany Council officials to the next meeting with Department of the Environment officials where the implementation of the Regeneration Project was to be discussed. My proposal was unanimously adopted by the Council.

“However to date we have been blocked from sitting in at these meetings. The high level meetings that are deciding the future of Cranmore are taking place in secret, behind closed doors and the elected representatives of the people of this community are deliberately being refused the right to observe what is happening. Is that not evidence enough to show that the concerns of the Cranmore residents are being downgraded in the wider scheme of things?” said Cllr Bree.

Speaking at a meeting of the Regional Health Forum in Galway this week, Cllr Declan Bree called on the Health Service Executive and the Government to reverse the decision to lay off front line staff at Sligo General Hospital.

“In the period since the health boards were abolished by the Government the level of public accountability in the health service has diminished significantly.  It is obvious that many HSE officials feel that they can do as they wish and that they are accountable to no one.” Cllr Bree said.

“Since this Regional Health Forum was established in February 2006 we have had numerous and well considered discussions and debates relating to the state of the health services in this region.  We have adopted many motions and made many recommendations relating to the improvement and development of the health services and copies of all these motions and recommendations were forwarded to Professor Drumm, and the Health Service Executive.    

“However, to date we never had any response good, bad or indifferent from the HSE to any motion or recommendation adopted by this Health Forum.    And in my view this is typical of the manner in which the HSE treats elected public representatives and it’s typical of the way in which the HSE treats the taxpayer and the general public.

“On Thursday morning last the HSE decided to implement major lay offs in Sligo General Hospital with four hospital consultants and thirty nurses being laid off.  No information was provided to the members of this Forum regarding this significant decision.  Indeed it would appear that little or no information was given to Jimmy Devins T.D., who not only is a Sligo Dail deputy but is Minister of State at the Department of Health.

“This is typical of the manner in which the HSE carries out its activities.  I first learned of the lay offs on Thursday morning when I received a phone call from a nurse who works in the hospital.  The local media heard of it the same way.  It was after 5 o’ clock on Thursday evening, following numerous requests, that a statement was issued by the “Communication Dept” of the HSE confirming the lay offs.

“To my knowledge not one HSE official, not one bureaucrat, not one of the highly paid HSE managers was prepared to speak to the radio, TV or press about the lay offs.  As soon as the decision was made everyone ran for cover.  This is the way the HSE runs its business.” Cllr Bree said.

“The fact is that the decision to lay of front line staff in Sligo General Hospital and to place a total ban on the replacement of staff is a direct attack on the interests of patients and will clearly lead to a deterioration of standards in services at the hospital.

“Last week Minister Jimmy Devins was saying that patient care would not be hit by any of the cuts being implemented in Sligo General Hospital. This is the same type of propaganda we hear from Minister Harney and the HSE.   The fact is that Sligo general hospital simply cannot maintain its services to patients when key medical consultants and nurses are being laid off.  And Minister Harney and Minister Devins and Professor Drumm now have a duty and an obligation to the people of this region to ensure that this decision is reversed.

“The financial difficulties or budget overruns within the HSE are not the fault of the staff who treat patients, nor is it the fault of patients who become sick and have to be admitted to hospital.  Yet because of the layoffs it is the very people who the HSE are supposed to provide a service to that will in effect be penalised.

“All of us know that the health service cannot function properly without maintaining key staff.   What the lay offs and ban on replacement means is that if a key doctor or consultant becomes ill or his or her contract comes up for renewal, a locum cannot even be recruited.  While everyone recognises the need to keep costs under control, a blanket ban that makes no differentiation between the replacement of a Specialist or cancer care nurse on the one hand, or the recruitment of an additional member of management on the other, simply cannot be justified.” said Cllr Bree.

“The decision to lay off so many front line staff in Sligo General Hospital is clearly a sign of crisis management and it is obvious that these ill thought-out decisions will only lead to further chaos in the delivery of services.

“It’s now clear that the HSE is incapable of managing the services and incapable of managing its own money and the decision of Minister Mary Harney to hand over full control of the health services has proven to be major mistake.

“When Minister Harney created the HSE she created a type of Frankenstein monster that is run by faceless bureaucrats drawn from all parts of the country, who appear to be answerable to no one.

“When the health boards existed details of budgeting and overspending or underspending were brought before the members of the Health Board and considered.   This was an open and transparent system where elected representatives had the opportunity debating such matters with senior management – and of course this was all covered by and published in the local media.

“However in the period since the Government abolished the Health Boards, openness, transparency and public accountability have become a thing of the past.

“Minister Harneys decision to hand over control of the health services to the HSE has been a major mistake and she and the Government can not be allowed to wash their hands of the problem.   Minister Harney and the Government are responsible for creating the crisis and they must now move to resolve it.   I am now calling on the Minister and on Professor Drumm and the HSE to immediately reverse the outrageous decision to lay off the front line staff in Sligo General Hospital.” said Cllr Bree.

 

The decision by councillors to renege on earlier commitments and to now support a proposal to develop a car-park in Sligo’s Fairgreen has been described as a “betrayal of the local community” by Independent Socialist Councillor Declan Bree.

“It’s clear that certain councillors have caved in following lobbying and pressure from commercial interests and senior bureaucrats.” said Cllr Bree.

“The local people who were present in the public gallery at this weeks meeting of the Borough Council were upset and angry when they discovered that a number of councillors were prepared to perform U-turns and vote for a car park for the Fairgreen rather than an amenity area and children’s playground

“One resident made the point to me that the political parties could not be trusted because Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and even a Sinn Fein councillor who had previously supported the initiative for an amenity area in the Fairgreen had now thrown their weight behind the commercial interests who were lobbying for a car-park.

“As a former member of the Labour Party I can say that it was always Labour policy that the Fairgreen be developed as a green area, an amenity area, with a children’s playground. I think it’s sad that the party is now reneging on its policies and selling out the local community.

“In 1999 councillors first voted to develop a recreation area and children’s playground in the Fairgreen.

“In 2000 the Council went through the legal Part VIII consultative process and there was widespread support for the proposal to develop the Fairgreen as an area of recreation and children’s playground. In fact the record will show that there was not one objection to the proposal.

“However despite the councillors decision, no action was taken by Council officials to progress the matter.

“In December 2001 when the matter was next considered, councillors voted in favour of a motion directing officials to proceed with the development. Again no action was taken by the officials.

“To add insult to injury in 2003, despite the earlier decisions taken by the elected councillors, the County Manger and his officials proposed in the new draft Sligo and Environs Development Plan that the Fairgreen be re-zoned for commercial activities

“When local residents heard of the Managers proposal they organised a public meeting in the MCR Centre and appealed to councillors to ensure that the area was zoned as “Open Space/Green Links” so as to allow for the development of the amenity area and playground.

“The councillors responded positively and rejected the County Managers proposal and when I proposed that the Fairgreen be zoned as “Open Space/Green Links” my motion received the unanimous support of the Council.

“However, despite the decision of the Council, officials did nothing to progress the development.

“In April 2006 the Council sought a report regarding progress on the matter. Following consideration of the report in June 2006, the elected members of the Council unanimously agreed that staff should commence the process of preparing plans and seeking funds for the development of the recreation area and playground and it was agreed that any shortfall in funding should come from development levies.

“Despite the decision of June 06 and all the earlier decisions of the Council, it is clear that the County Manger and his officials did absolutely nothing to progress the development of the Faireen.

“Not only did they fail or refuse to implement the decision of the elected councillors they now have the audacity to propose that the Fairgreen be turned into a Car park.

“This in my opinion is not only treating the decision of the elected councillors with contempt it is treating the local community with contempt.

“The development of the playground has been on the agenda for 8 years and to date, with the exception of the Part VIII consultative process which took place in 2000, the County Manger has failed to act on the decision of the elected councillors.

“Members of the public often ask me why it is so difficult to get things done at local authority level. I think this case clearly illustrates the difficulties and obstacles that principled elected councillors have to face.

“Councillors initially agreed to develop a playground because they recognised that children living in the city centre and in the areas adjacent to the Fairgreen have no play facilities.

“As I have already pointed out, in a country that claims to be so interested in the family and children, the lack of playgrounds is remarkable and I am more than concerned that the development of the Fairgreen project has been thwarted for so long.

“I would also point out that over the past number of years there has been increased funding from the exchequer for the development of children’s playgrounds. The Local Authority Playground Grants Scheme, administered by the National Children’s Office and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has already allocated millions of euro for playgrounds, yet the county manager and the Council executive have never bothered applying for grant aid for the development of the Fairgreen play area.

“It is abundantly clear that people in the local community are not prepared to allow commercial interests to take away their only green area and they intend to fight and campaign to protect what is theirs by right.

“Local young people from the MCR area have already organised a petition and collected hundreds of signatures from local residents. They presented the petition to the Mayor in advance of this week’s Borough Council meeting and many of the young people observed the Council debate from the public gallery in City Hall.

“Now a Save the Fairgeen Campaign is being organised which I know will attract support from all over Sligo.

“People from the local community are leading the campaign. They will not be hoodwinked. They intend to assert themselves and they will have the support of everyone who is genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of local communities and concerned about the sustainable development of Sligo.” Cllr Bree said.

 

 

Putting the control of water into private hands was "immoral and unacceptable", a member of Sligo County Council has said.

Independent Socilist Councillor Declan Bree received unanimous support for a motion urging that the Council confirm its opposition to the privatisation of water services and that the local authority will oppose any attempts to hand over water and waste water systems to the private sector.

Clr. Bree said world consumption of water was set to double every twenty years, while at the same time water sources were being polluted, diverted and depleted.

"There is growing concern that the continuing involvement of the private sector in infrastructural development in this country will encourage an approach which treats water as a private commodity to be sold off to the highest bidder," he added.

There is undoubtedly a preferred option among many in Government circles, and in PD circles in particular, to extend the involvement of the private sector in water supply, development and maintenance, Clr. Bree claimed.

Water services entailed four basic functions, purifying the water that went into the system, delivering it to households and businesses, cleaning up the water that left those homes and businesses and extending and repairing the network of pipes, pumps and plants.

"Currently in Ireland there are efforts being made to hand over water and waste water systems to the private sector out of the local authority system.

"It is the view of a growing number of people, and this is supported by evidence from a number of countries, that reliance on public private partnerships (PPPs) to support and advance such a fundamental national infrastructural resource is contrary to the national interest.

"In my opinion, putting the control of water into private hands is immoral and unacceptable," he went on.

Clr. Bree said that at local level, the cost of waste water treatment and provision of water for domestic use was increasing side by side with the handing over of this asset to the private sector.

This would lead to a financial crises within local authorities with costs transferred eventually to consumers, business and farming.

"Within the local authorities, one of the starkest outcomes of the avenue to complete privatisation which relies on public private partnerships, was a loss of skills and knowledge which had been a fundamental part of local government activity in this country for almost 200 years.

Clr. Bree quoted the C.E.O. of Veolia Water, Mr. Henri Proglio, who had stated in an interview two years ago that "water, like oil, is getting scarcer."

"We're living on Earth in 2005 with the same amount of water that was available in 1900, while in the meantime the global population has quadrupled," he added.

Clr. Bree said it was clear that what was bad for humanity could be good for business, as Veolia's revenues increased by twelve per cent last year.

"At this stage in the development of our economy it should be abundantly clear that water and waste water are pivotal to the further development of our national infrastructure and must not be privatised," he added in proposing his motion.

It stated :"Recognising that the issue of water treatment, its maintenance and delivery is of growing public concern, and further recognising that water is not a private commodity and is best retained under the control of the public sector, this Council confirms its opposition to the privatisation of water services and will oppose any attempt to hand over water and waste water systems to the private sector."

 

 

Sligo Independent Socialist councillor Declan Bree,has strongly criticised the decision of the HSE to allow a private hospital company to use the public facilities in Sligo General Hospital.

At the most recent meeting of the Regional Health Forum West Councillor Bree, asked if the HSE had agreed to provide the use of the Day Surgical Unit and associated facilities at Sligo General Hospital to a private for-profit hospital and asking that details of the arrangement between the HSE and the private hospital be provided to the Health Forum

In reply Cllr Bree was told: “The HSE has been in discussions with Mount Carmel Medical (MCM) in relation to the use of the General Hospital’s Day Surgery facility in order to accommodate MCM who are having a theatre upgrade carried out.

“The proposed arrangement is that there will be a number of sessions provided to Mount Carmel Medical, approximately 8 in total over a two month period, August and September.

“This arrangement is a commercial agreement and Mount Carmel Medical will pay for the use of Day Surgical Unit when it would otherwise have been unoccupied.  No public patients will be displaced or inconvenienced and the hospital will benefit from the rental fee.   The Hospital has a number of free theatre slots which would not be used during the course of the summer months due to staff leave etc. and therefore no public patients are impacted in terms of the potential use of the Day Surgery Unit by Mount Carmel Medical.

“It is proposed that Mount Carmel Medical will have the full use of facilities, however, they will provide staffing, equipment, insurance and will bear all associated costs.” Cllr Bree was told.

Speaking to the “Sligo Champion” today Cllr Bree said that providing private for- profit operators with facilities in our public hospitals clearly demonstrates the direction that the Government and the HSE are proceeding in. 

“Here we have an excellent public facility that has been paid for by the taxpayer and we learn that for two months of the year it is being under-utilised.   What type of management would permit such a situation to arise?  

“We should remember that this is the same HSE hospital management which was responsible for leaving a Dexa Bone Scanner lying unused in Sligo General Hospital for two years. And we should remember that this is the same hospital management which decided to place the said Bone Scanner in accommodation in the private Mount Carmel Medical Hospital at Garden Hill, declaring that there was no room to locate the scanner in Sligo General Hospital.” 

“Leaving vital pieces of equipment unused for years, underutilising state of the art public facilities in the General Hospital and colluding with for-profit private health operators appear to be the hallmarks of this type of management.” declared Cllr Bree.

“It must now be clear to everyone that in the period since the Health Boards were abolished by the Government the level of public accountability in the health service has diminished significantly.  It seems to me that HSE officials believe they can do as they like and that they are accountable to no one.

“Having failed or refused to utilise the modern equipment and facilities which was paid for by the Irish taxpayer, it would appear that senior HSE management are now working with and encouraging the private hospital operators to utilise the said same equipment and facilities in the interests of boosting shareholders profits. This is nothing but a scandal.

“In addition last week’s decision by the Government and the HSE to allow Mount Carmel Medical to co-locate a private for-profit hospital on the grounds of Sligo General Hospital is nothing but a betrayal of everything our public health system stands for.  As far as I am concerned health care is a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold.” Cllr Bree said.