Kelly questions Govt commitment to Slaintecare

08 September 2021

Labour leader and health spokesperson Alan Kelly has questioned Government’s commitment to progressing Slaintecare following the resignation of two officials from the programme. Deputy Kelly said he is deeply concerned about the future of Slaintecare and has called on Minister Donnelly to commit to continuing this vital reform of the health service.

Deputy Kelly said:

“Firstly I want to thank Laura Magahy and Prof Tom Keane for their work in progressing this important State innovation thus far. While the health system is still grappling with Covid, we cannot as a State be ignorant to the serious issues that exist within the system.

“Slaintecare was a programme that I was proud to work on and is something that has broad political support. We need to know if Minister Donnelly’s department was putting up roadblocks to stop the work of Ms Magahy or Prof Keane.

“At the same time, we need to recruit the necessary staff to make SláinteCare a reality, by recruiting nurses, home help workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and counsellors, as well as GPs.

“Labour is committed to a single health system that works for everyone, where everyone gets equally good medical treatment, based on need. The roadmap is the agreed all-party SláinteCare Report. Privatisation is all around us under Fine Gael- listen to the airwaves and advertising- and Fianna Fail wish to super-charge the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

“Minister Donnelly must publicly state his belief in the Slaintecare and ensure that a new director and chair of the board is in place before the end of September. We cannot allow this project to fall by the wayside.”

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