This article is from page 19 of the 2007-10-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 19 JPG
MEMBERS of Clare County Council have re-iterated their support for the retention of a 24-hour accident and emergency service at Ennis General Hospital, but not before clashing over the role of the Ennis Hospital Devel- opment Committee.
Speaking at last night’s meeting, Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said people in Clare deserved an A&E service that was on a par with service offered by their local
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Cllr McCarthy said, “We are ex- tremely mindful that we don’t want a service that is less than what we would get from our GP. I would con- sider a service led by junior doctors to be less than that. I would consider a nurse led service to not be the same as what would be offered by my GP.”
But tensions flared late on as the meeting drew to a close.
Independent councillor Martin Laf- ferty, who tabled the joint motion with Cllr Christy Curtin calling on
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to remember commitments he made to the Ennis Hospital Committee, said he was dis- appointed by what he called attempts to “denigrate” the Ennis Hospital Sroyebenvliraen
He said, “I am disappointed that politics has been brought into this debate. What I see is the worst type of spin and the worst type of effort to denigrate the Ennis Hospital Com- Pe bLAKoLonie
After a meeting with Cllr McCa- rthy, the mayors of Kilrush, Kilkee
and Shannon and Minster Harney, Independent councillor Tommy Brennan hit out at the committee.
“T take great exception to being directed by the Ennis Hospital De- velopment Committee on what ques- tions to ask, where I should go, and where we should go to pose for a picture. How can any committee tell the five mayors of this county what to do.”
Fianna Fail councillor Pat Daly said he was disappointed at the anti-Fi- anna Fail sentiment expressed at last
week’s hospital rally. CUr Daly said he was also confident a 24-hour serv- ice would be retained at the hospital. Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) said, “This is the Government that put the Hanly report in place, that put the HSE in place and are insisting on putting pri- vate hospitals in public facilities.” Cilr Curtin said, “I would invite Mary Harney to come down to Mike Crotty’s house in Loop Head and time how long it takes to drive to En- nis. People in Clare need Ennis and they need acute services in Ennis.”