Fianna Fáil General Election candidate in Roscommon-Galway Cllr. Eugene Murphy has accused Fine Gael of reneging on its promises and further eroding health services in Co. Roscommon. It’s being reported that one of the ambulances serving Roscommon town is to be moved to Loughglynn as part of a reconfiguration programme.
Cllr. Murphy commented, “Following the closure of the A&E Department at Roscommon Hospital, then Health Minister James Reilly told the Dáil that the emergency service would be “
supplemented by an additional ambulance so there would be four ambulances covering Roscommon during the day and three at night
”. He claimed that there would be “
extra paramedics available with a car to provide cover if all the ambulances are out of Roscommon at any given time
”.
“Now it’s emerged that Roscommon town is lose one of its ambulances to Loughglynn, which will leave large parts of the county with a substantially reduced service. Fine Gael shut our A&E and now they’re determined to decimate our ambulance cover. Why is this Government consistently targeting Roscommon? Since coming to office Fine Gael has broken promise after promise, and this latest decision will leave people in Roscommon town exposed to potentially life-threatening emergencies.
“This Government is completely out of touch with rural Ireland. It’s obvious that Enda Kenny and Fine Gael are more concerned with looking after the wealthy, rather than protecting vital services in Roscommon and other rural areas.
“The removal of an ambulance from Roscommon town is yet another example of the arrogance of Fine Gael and Labour and their drive towards a two-tier society. There is no sense of fairness or equality in this Government’s policies. They are serving the wealthiest and have lost touch with ordinary people. Fianna Fáil wants to change this. We want to see improvements in public services; we want the recovery to spread to the regions. We want an Ireland for All”.