FF promised health policy ‘early in new year’. I won’t be holding my breath – Doherty

Fine Gael Meath East TD and Member of the Oireachtas Health Committee, Regina Doherty, has said she hopes that Fianna Fáil will finally deliver on its promise to produce its long awaited health policy.

“As we approach 2015, I am reminded of Billy Kelleher’s promise, made recently on RTE’s Drivetime programme, that Fianna Fáil will release its elusive health policy ‘early in the new year’. I, for one, won’t be holding my breath.

“It’s beyond time for Fianna Fáil to release concrete, costed plans on how our health service should be run for the future. It is not acceptable for the largest opposition party to constantly sling mud at the health service while refusing to put its name to an alternative plan. 

“The following timeline outlines the Party’s record of empty promises on producing a health policy:

· Fianna Fáil went into the last General Election in 2011 with an election manifesto that didn’t have a health section.

· In April 2013, Micheál Martin published a policy guide promising a detailed document on how the health system should work at a later stage. That detailed document still hasn’t materialised.

· In July 2013 the Party commissioned a report on Universal Health Insurance by Brian Turner of UCC, which contained the following disclaimer: ‘The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the School of Economics, University College Cork or Fianna Fáil.’

· That same month Deputy Billy Kelleher told us: ‘Fianna Fáil is committed to bringing forward radical proposals on creating a fairer health system.’ No proposals were ever put forward.

· On 27th November this year Billy Kelleher told RTE’s Drivetime programme that the Party will release a health policy ‘early in the new year’.

“Billy Kelleher has spent the last three years criticising a health service his party destroyed. He is apparently oblivious to his party leader, Micheál Martin’s disastrous stewardship of the health service and his establishment of the HSE while Minister for Health. Last year, the HSE Chief Executive Tony O’Brien described the way in which the HSE was established in 2004 as being ‘like a high speed car crash’.

“No wonder all Fianna Fáil does is criticise. There is a complete vacuum of policies and initiatives from the party, not just in health but across all sectors.

“One of the few policies they have is on tax – they don’t want to reduce it.”