Budget 2020 will not solve the day to day crises in Health
Labour Party Health spokesperson Alan Kelly TD has said that the Health budget will do little to solve to main crises in our health services.
Deputy Kelly said:
“Today’s budget will do absolutely nothing to solve the main concerns of patients and front line staff in our health service.
“This Fine Gael Government has gone out of its way to try to rebuild its economic credibility and reputation on spending controls but the Budget reality is very different.
“They squirrelled away an extra €200 million of capital for the National Children’s Hospital and national Broadband Plan to cover up cost overruns. Once again hundreds of millions committed to supplementary estimates – €450 million in total and of that, €335m for Health.
“An extra €25m for National Treatment Purchase Fund means that €100m will be spend buying private healthcare next year while no real measures brought in to tackle the crippling waiting lists.
“The National Treatment Purchase Fund was a Fianna Fail demand for last few years but so far it has abysmally failed.
“This Budget will do nothing to end the recruitment ban in our hospitals. “We know that that there are over 100 unfilled nursing posts in University Hospital Limerick alone, the hospital with the highest trolley count today. Staff in hospitals across the country are over stretched, stressed beyond words because of the recruitment ban the government continues to deny exists.
“This Is a sham budget for health, that will do absolutely nothing to deal with the year-round winter conditions in our hospitals.”