Labour has accused the Government of squandering money on electronic voting that could have been used to open a new wing in Cork University Hospital. The unit has been lying idle for the past seven months because of a shortage of €3 million in funds.
Ms Kathleen Lynch, Labour TD for Cork North Central, strongly criticised the Government and Minister for Health Micheál Martin for failing to find the money to open the new accident and emergency unit at Cork University Hospital.
She and a number of Labour Party members including three city councillors protested outside the closed facility yesterday.
"The money flittered away on the e-voting debacle would have ensured that this facility would be up and running.
"Instead it sits unopened and unused," said Deputy Lynch who was joined on the protest by Cllrs John Kelleher, Mick O'Connell and Ciaran Lynch.
"This new wing has been completed for seven months and it would appear the Government is more concerned with fanciful pipe dreams such as Punchestown than providing much needed medical facilities for patients," said Ms Lynch.
Taxpayers deserve to have their money spent on a proper health service rather than "hoarded by Charlie McCreevy who is just putting money away into a war chest for the next election", Ms Lynch said.
If Mr Martin was not capable of winning the battle for funding for his own Department, he should do the honourable thing and resign, she added.
"I do think people outside of Cork may be under the illusion that because we have the Minister for Health living in and representing Cork city that we have a very good health service - say in the way that John O'Donoghue has looked after sports organisations in Kerry - but that's not the case.
"The health system in Cork is in rag order just like everywhere else in the country," she said.
Mr Martin strongly rejected Ms Lynch's criticism.
He said there had been "unprecedented expenditure in Cork University Hospital" over the past four to five years.
He pointed to the recent opening of a new radiotherapy unit, the ongoing work on a new maternity unit as well as the new A&E unit as proof of the Government's commitment.
Mr Martin said that he would discuss the staffing issue with the Southern Health Board and the unit would be opening "very shortly".
He also rejected suggestions that the unit had been lying idle for seven months.
He said that after topping out, the unit had to be equipped and this equipment had to be commissioned.
"I don't need to take lectures from the Labour Party in Cork on the development of health services here. They have some neck to put their head above the parapet in terms of health services development in Cork because they did very little between 1992 and 1997 when they were in Government and they had control of the health portfolio for a time," Mr Martin said.
Deputy Lynch said that Mr Martin seemed to be more intent on commissioning reports than on actually providing a proper health system. A Southern Health Board spokesperson said that construction work on the new accident and emergency unit was complete and that equipping of the unit was now proceeding.
The opening of the new unit requires an additional 73 whole time-equivalent staff including nurses, healthcare assistants, clerical and other staff, at an approximated annual cost of €3.6 million.
