Dublin North East Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Sinn Féin protest public land sell off

Published: 29 August, 2006

Larry O'Toole and colleagues protesting at Beaumont Hospital

Larry O'Toole and colleagues protesting at Beaumont Hospital

Dublin North East Sinn Féin held a protest outside Beaumont Hospital in August to oppose the deal between Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney and developers of private hospitals. She wants to allocate land at 11 public hospital sites, including Beaumont, to developers to build private hospitals. As well as getting access to this land the developers will receive massive tax breaks for building private for-profit healthcare facilities.

Speaking at the protest Sinn Féin Councillor Larry O'Toole said it was "scandalous" that public land is being made available and public money spent in this way. He explained:

"The Government holds the people's money in trust and has a duty to spend it in the fairest and most efficient way. This is especially true in the area of healthcare. Yet we see Mary Harney allocating money and land to private developers so that they can make money for themselves while our public hospital system struggles from crisis to crisis.

"This will reinforce the two-tier health system. Those who can afford it can gain access faster to care in private health facilities. Everyone else must wait and join the queues in the public system. The Tánaiste has failed miserably to sort out the mess in our hospital Accident and Emergency units. She has failed to supply the extra public hospital beds we need. She has failed to get the hospital consultants to devote more time to the public system and less time to their profitable private practices."

Councillor O'Toole said Sinn Féin would be continuing to campaign for a fairer health system with equal access for all based on need alone as set out in the party's policy document Healthcare in an Ireland of Equals. This policy can be accessed at www.sfhealthpolicy.com