HSE cuts target Sancta Maria & Ard Cuan

The HSE have introduced cuts of €4million and the loss of 56 staff across the Daughters of Charity services for people with disabilities. The Sancta Maria respite service on the Navan Road, is set to be cut by 45% while the Ard Cuan respite house in Cabra is facing immediate closure.  Occupational therapy, speech and language and physiotherapy services will also be cut.

The HSE and Health Minister, Mary Harney, have introduced these vicious cuts without a minutes thought for service users and their families. During the boom time government considerably underfunded disability services. Now, in recession, these services are to be decimated. This is an outrage. I challenge Mary Harney to face the families who depend on these services. Instead of hiding behind the HSE the Minister should pay a visit to the real world and shoulder her responsibilities to those she is supposed to serve.

The Daughters of Charity service was forced to close the De Paul swimming pool - which catered for people with disabilities - last year due to lack of funding. Services now face further cuts and closure. I fully support the parents and families of service users in their campaign to have these cuts reversed and urge everyone who wants decent treatment for those with disabilities to support their protest outside the Dáil on Tuesday (29th June).

Messages of support for the campaign can be emailed to parentsforum.daughtersofcharity@gmail.com 

Members and supporters of the Smithfield Amateur Boxing Club who were looked out of their training facilities in CBS North Brunswick Street by the school's board of management. The club has gone from strength to strength since it was first established in 2008. There will be a demonstration every evening this week outside the school. I've spoken to Dublin City Council and the schools board of management. The club needs its training facilities and we in the inner city community are not going to take this one lying down!

Did you know that the world’s largest swimming pool is in Chile?

Great night had by all in Cleary’s pub last night. Much needed funds were raised for the campaign to save Seán MacDermott Street swimming pool.  Did you know that the world’s largest swimming pool is in Chile? I didn’t till last night.

The campaign is going well but not won yet. The protest at City Hall on Monday evening will start at 6pm. A Sinn Féin emergency motion demanding funds to save the swimming pools will be debated. Let's keep the pressure up!

Myself & the East Wall ladies on route to the 2010 women's mini marathon (before the terrible rain!). Huge thanks to all who supported us in raising funds for a much needed wheelchair accessible bus for the Seán O'Casey Community Centre. Onwards & upwards.

Fianna Fáil & the Green's must stop cruel cuts and tackle jobs crisis instead

The Star kindly carried an article of mine this week on the governments proposals to cut further lone parents and social welfare payments. Text of it is below. Have a read and let me know what you think.....

This Government has some cheek. They have wrecked the economy and brought the state to its knees. Of course they won’t take any responsibility for this. Having already cut welfare payments, including the Christmas bonus, they are back again pointing the finger of blame at people on social welfare.

Over the last twelve months the dole queues have swelled. People who have lost jobs have had their incomes and lives shattered. Offers of work are few and far between.

The Minister for ‘Social Protection’ is now waving the big stick at people who are out of work. ‘Get out to work or we’ll cut your benefits’ is the message from Eamon O Cuiv TD and his well paid government cronies. I wonder how Eamon O Cuiv TD, or the rest of them, would get by on €200 a week?

They want us to believe that the thousands who have lost their jobs don’t really want to work or to take up training. This is the same crowd who have failed to come up with any plan to keep people at work or to generate new jobs or to provide training and apprenticeships.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Everyone needs decent work, to pay their way and provide for their families. No one should be left in poverty traps, relying on welfare for their income. That is not acceptable. The latest cuts in welfare aren’t really aimed at getting people back to work.

Having a go at the unemployed and lone parents is the Governments way of distracting attention from their own failures – typical sleveen politics.

We need a job creation plan – proposals from Sinn Fein and others can point a way forward. We need training and childcare supports to get people back to work. We need these things now. The Government should lay off people struggling on welfare and use their energies to put right the mess they are responsible for.