Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Last Friday my office rang a Department to ask if there was a reply to a letter I had sent in the first week of March. We were told that owing to the work to rule since January no letters were being replied to. There are times when we can put up with a certain amount of difficulty, but to have a work to rule for that length of time without a function being performed is impossible. We must urge that a conclusion be reached soon rather than drag our feet on the matter.

I also heard a report on radio today that Beaumont Hospital had to close approximately 56 beds owing to budget controls. We seem to have lost all sense of patriotism. There must be some way of acknowledging that we are much better off than we were 20 or ten years ago. Consider what happened in Greece yesterday and Latvia recently, where everyone had to take a pay cut of approximately 40% with the arrival of the IMF. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be in employment and have an income should, rather than taking it out on those who need hospital beds in Beaumont Hospital or elsewhere, say they are willing to sacrifice and give up something to help the country at this time. What happened in Greece yesterday was horrific. The danger is that even in the case of Greece, the people do not understand or recognise that it is not in their hands. They must do something themselves if they are to solve the problem.