This article is from page 22 of the 2007-04-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
UNA FITZGERALD, a community nurse in Tulla believes that health 1s- sues will be very important in this election.
‘Health is one of the big issues and particularly community health fa- cilities. I would have huge concerns about elderly people who are trying to look after people with a disability at home. We need more support fa- cilities for carers who are doing a job round the clock, seven days a week. There are not enough respite facili- ties and supports’, she said.
Una would like to see the next gov- ernment provide a much better range of facilities at community level for social and health purposes. “People need day-care facilities, they need drop-in centres and carers need res-
pite places. These are all important and people will be looking to Gov- ernment to provide them.”
Una says people are also becoming increasingly alarmed and concerned about the number of road deaths, particularly among young people.
“It will have to be tackled. There are just too many tragedies on our roads’, she said.
The Rural Transport Initiative will also have to be delivered on and in a meaningful way, said Una. “Isolation can be a big problem in rural communities, particularly for elderly people who are living outside the towns and villages and for people who are living in isolated areas with- out transport. They need a means of getting to the services they need, to get medical attention, or to shop and to meet people”.