- Pringle: We need a policy that recognises the importance of inshore fishing
- Pringle: Disabled people and carers face crisis of State neglect
- Pringle: Failed FF/FG housing policies forcing people to put their lives on hold
- Pringle welcomes Donegal council motion on Occupied Territories Bill: ‘We cannot stand by in the face of genocide’
Pringle calls out government hypocrisy regarding cancer services
- Updated: 11th November 2024
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, has called out the hypocrisy of government candidates for raising issues of increased funding for cancer services despite decades of inaction on the issue.
Deputy Pringle said: “As we have seen this weekend, a Government party candidate is calling for further investment in Galway cancer services so that all people receive equal treatment.
“Yet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in a position for decades to better fund cancer services, and to support equal treatment for all, and they haven’t.
“A campaign promise to invest properly in cancer services rings rather hollow, coming from a candidate for a party that held the health portfolio for the duration of the outgoing government.
“The people know better than to think that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Greens will suddenly make the necessary investment in cancer services and the wider health service that they have failed to do during their term of government.
“The ERSI has said that our ‘two-tier system is now widely regarded as problematic from an equity perspective’, and the Government’s policies are only exacerbating the inequalities that exist in our health service. The two-tier health system in this country is an absolute disgrace and one of the most shameful examples of inequality in our society.
“It shouldn’t be a radical idea to suggest that everyone in this country should have access to treatment when and as needed in a fully functioning public healthcare system.
“Access to these services is crucial, as we see Donegal cancer patients too often forced to travel to Galway and Dublin for treatment. The trip from Donegal to Galway or Dublin is particularly difficult for someone who is not well. And on top of that, they have to deal with unreliable Bus Éireann services from Donegal to Galway.
“There were even concerns last month that the cancer flights to Dublin were under threat because of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, though after Donegal advocates for the flight made their voices heard, it was announced that the cap will not affect that vital service.
“Yes, we need further investment in our health services to ensure that everyone is treated equally. However, the record of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael should show us that they are not the people to get this done,” he said.
Read my Manifesto For Donegal here.
Read the latest news and statements on issues affecting Donegal.
