Sheehan slams Fine Gael’s empty meeting on UHL crisis
Sheehan slams Fine Gael’s empty meeting on UHL crisis - The Labour Party
- UHL crisis demands real action now
Labour’s Conor Sheehan TD in Limerick has said that he did not attend the Fine Gael-organised meeting on the HIQA report into University Hospital Limerick (UHL), stressing that “we are far beyond talking shops – what is needed now is action.”
The HIQA report lays bare the chronic failures that have left patients, staff and the wider Mid-West community paying the price for years of political neglect. Deputy Sheehan has called on the Minister for Health to urgently outline how he intends to act on HIQA’s findings.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“I did not attend Fine Gael’s meeting because the people of Limerick have had enough of empty talk. We are far beyond talking shops – what is needed now is actual action. This crisis did not appear overnight. Fianna Fáil created it through botched reconfiguration, and Fine Gael has perpetuated it by refusing to take responsibility and by kicking the can down the road.
“The HIQA report is a damning indictment of this Government’s failure to deal with the crisis at University Hospital Limerick. We don’t need to discuss it further, we need action. HIQA is crystal clear: the Minister for Health must now choose between three options – expanding capacity at UHL, extending the hospital campus to include a second site, or building a new Model 3 hospital in the region. For too long, warnings have been ignored, and it is patients and frontline staff who are paying the price.
“The people of Limerick are angry, and they are right to be. We have seen countless reviews, visits, and promises. What we have not seen is delivery. We cannot allow this crisis to drag on while Government hides behind committees and consultations. The Minister must outline a clear timeline for action and begin the process of finally providing the Mid-West with the hospital capacity it desperately needs.
“Talk is cheap. The people of Limerick and the Mid-West need beds, staff, and a functioning hospital system. I am calling on Government to stop the political theatre, face the facts, and deliver a long-term plan that guarantees safe and timely healthcare for every patient in the Mid-West.”