Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have no hesitation in supporting the action taken by the nurses, not because I wish to see a strike but because if we listen to what the nurses are saying - I welcome them to the Gallery - it is not about pay and conditions but providing a safe health service. In the absence of sufficient staff a safe health service cannot be provided. In 1999 I had the privilege of being elected to the local council in Galway and I sat on a health forum. I find Fianna Fáil's attitude deeply unacceptable. It is very hard to take it seriously because it presided over the privatisation of the public health service and its systematic running down, which Fine Gael and the Labour Party unfortunately took over.

A safe health system cannot be provided with inadequate staff. I know that personally and professionally. My family knows on a personal level the pressure the staff are under in Galway. Looking at the context of the strike we see the figures for people on trolleys. Figures are thrown about here so I am going to repeat them because these are simply for Galway and Ballinasloe. There were 8,750 people on trolleys and chairs. An 80 year old woman was on a trolley for three days and on 11 April last year there were 58 people on trolleys. I can pick any figure or I can quote Dr. Hickey who has come out very honestly and openly to tell us that every year between 300 and 350 people die prematurely because of the time spent on trolleys. We have an unsafe health system despite the best efforts of nurses and doctors because we have systematically run that down. We are seeing the consequences of that every single day. Earlier, Deputy Adams read out a letter. I also got that letter, as did others, from a woman who is facing an essential test on the day of the nurses' strike and notwithstanding that she said she supports the nurses. It is an absolute disgrace that a junior Minister is here on his own in an empty Chamber with not a single Fine Gael colleague to support him. That tells a story of itself.

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