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Updated with images at 15.41
PARENTS OF CHILDREN who have had medical cards revoked highlighted the issue outside the country’s largest paediatric hospital today.
The one-hour vigil began at 2pm outside Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin. It was spearheaded by parents of children who are currently being treated in the hospital but whose medical cards have been removed from them by the HSE.
A callout was made to all TDs in the Dublin South Central constituency to attend the vigil in support of the parents organising it. As of this morning, United Left Alliance TD Joan Collins and Sinn Féin TD Aonghus Ó Snodaigh had confirmed that they would be speaking at the event.
Daithi Doolan, a Sinn Féin representative for Ballyfermot/Drimnagh, is chairing the vigil but stressed that it was not intended to be a “political” event. He told TheJournal.ie this morning:
I wrote to each of the TDs at South Central and invited them to attend and speak. There will be no political banners – we don’t want it to belong to any one political party. We’re there to support the parents.
It was announced in Budget 2014 that €113m is being targeted in savings from the provision of medical cards – there has been confusion and concern over how those savings are to be achieved. Subsequent to that announcement, Opposition TDs put on the Dáil record stories of vulnerable and ill citizens who had their medical cards revoked. They claimed that the government were consciously removing “discretionary” medical cards from chronically ill people.
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Removing medical cards from sick kids..how much lower can this government go?
absolutely disgusting.
Truly is stomach turnin stuff Nigel
Disgusting and morally wrong. They are not buying toys with these cards, If a child is getting medical attention, it obviously needs it and to take a medical card off them risks them from been excluded vital treatment because their parents can’t afford them. One saving cut that is too much to pay.
@David
Totally agree, Enda talks about having a mandate from the people..I voted FG in the last election..but I didnt vote for this
I voted for change in the way our country in run but all I got was more of the same..but if a man can lie to Joanna O Riordan on disabity before having to retract when the recording was produced what can we expect?
Remember “paddy likes to be told straight” “not another red cent” and the rest of the lies.
But even for FG to hit the sickest and most needy in society be they young or old is a new low
FG seem to want to run an economy as opposed to a society.
Just waiting for Richie Rogers to try to justify the unjust!
remember them at the local elections and wipe them out at the next general election.
like wise i did the same an feel the same conned
Here’s hoping someone takes note. The absolute horror of having a seriously ill child is bad enough without the worry of providing for their medical care.
@Catherine Sims, has anyone ever proposed that we institute a ‘sick children’s card’ ? Some way of dealing with the needs of chronically ill children only as the present medical card is so abused? Or should it not be just left to GP’s and hospitals to use their heads and provide whatever care an obviously sick child needs? We will probably be bogged down for ages in discussions about that darned medical card but surely children should be just dealt with now. The Dail could do this at the stroke of a pen as they do with their pet agendas and we need to force their hands.
Such a sad state of affairs … Does anyone recall Enda Kenny saying before the election that there would no no cuts to disabilities …He should hang his head in shame and Gilmore should do himself and that party he leads a big favour and disband
I think similar has been discussed but nothing much ever came from it as medical cards had been provided for the most part up to now. I agree changes are needed. Perhaps a card like you suggest is the answer and I imagine will be looked at in more depth now by parent groups.
I remember Linda… Just watched it again lately on utube… 100% turnaround on what they promised not to do
Shame ,,,Linda they don’t know the meaning of the WORD all they know is power and big salary and fat pensions and they are all the same thinks there above everybody one rule for them and one for us
Good luck to all those involved
What about the Labour Tds
Cowards TDs don’t interact face to face anymore it’s a holding game from here on its pension pension pension .
They could not careless more than half of them will be gone next election.
Support our children not our banks,,
Come next election we have to send
FF, FG and Lab a strong message don’t give them a vote.
I am going to vote independent.
Give someone else the chance of a big
Salary and pension they can’t be any worse than the clowns we have at the moment.
i will be doing the same. Stephen Donnelly num 1
hopefully a good independent will run in east cork, i have to reapply every year for my kid, who was born with a metabolic condition, had a liver transplant, and just finished chemotherapy for lymphoma which he got as a result of the immunosuppression. This is not something he will grow out of. now i’m not having a dig at those on jobseekers, but why do you automatically get a medical card if you lose your job, yet kids with severe medical issues are losing theirs.
“They can’t be any worse than the clowns we have at the moment”. I seem to recall similar comments at the last election.
I though this was the last straw that would drive people to show this shower of liars what we though of them. But alas nobody ran amok, myself included.
The last FG government fell as they were seen as taking shoes away from children.
Is one is taking medicine from them.
Hope it dosent rain too much
I was there & braved the rain for this cause. Great day & glad i went to support our lydia & eirin. Well dont to everyone who supported :)
” There will be no political banners – we don’t want it to belong to any one political party. We’re there to support the parents.”
Nice.
Taxed on my home, water, petrol, income etc etc etc… You’d think there would be money to pay for public services like hospitals…. Nope all gone in a big black hole… Einsamkeit und Unrecht und kein Freiheit…
Taking medical cards from the sick and giving them to the children (under 5s) of the rich and healthy regardless of income is just a political stunt to save the Labour Party.
Vote them out of office.They care for nobody but themselves
They really hate us
I know, we’re peasants who caused the recession
So in that case, nobody’s entitled to a free medical card.
useless comment as always jazz
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