John Gormley

The Green Party today published an alcohol position paper, aimed at tackling alcohol related harm in our society. Green Party Chairman and Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said it was necessary to change the way alcohol is marketed and sold in Ireland to address the ongoing problems of alcohol addiction and binge-drinking.

Deputy Gormley said: “Bank Holiday weekends tend to be a time of over-indulgence in alcohol. We are not saying that people should stay away from the pub but we do need to address the ongoing problems that alcohol related harm has on our society. Since 2004, most of the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol have been languishing in the Government’s filing cabinets. They have shelved the Alcohol Products Bill and withdrawn from the Groceries Order, which allows off-licences to sell alcohol at below cost. (more…)

– Govt has abandoned 2001 health strategy, says Gormley

The Green Party today outlined its vision on reforming the health service, and promised to deliver 2,000 extra acute beds in its first five years in government, in a bid to end the ‘national emergency’ in Ireland’s A&E units. Speaking at the launch of Party’s policy document on hospitals and funding this morning, Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that the Green Party would also stop Mary Harney’s ‘co-location’ plans to build private hospitals on public land.

Deputy Gormley said: “There are very few people on the front lines of medicine who advocate co-location. Indeed many respected health experts have described the idea as ‘cloud cuckoo land’. If we want to improve our public health service then we must invest in public beds, not private, for-profit hospitals, which will undoubtedly cherry-pick the least-complicated and most profitable procedures, leaving the most difficult tasks to public hospitals. This move will also result in higher premiums for the privately insured. If insurance costs continue to rise, then more people will be forced back into a seriously depleted public system. The Green Party is making it very clear today that we will scrap these plans. It would appear from some reports that there is also little enthusiasm in some quarters of the HSE for this hair-brained scheme.

“Many of the problems of our health service can be traced back to a lack of acute public beds, intensive care unit beds and step-down staff. The Green Party is committed to implementing the 2001 health strategy, which the FF-PD Government has totally abandoned. We will invest in 400 acute beds per annum, over a seven year period. We will do the same in relation to step-down beds. This target allows for the improvement of bed capacity on a phased and planned basis, taking into account fluctuations in population. The main point in relation to bed capacity is that there has been a 25 per cent reduction in beds since the 1980s, in startling contrast to the 25 per cent increase in population.

“The Green Party has already published a comprehensive document on primary healthcare. In our first term in office we would like to introduce free primary healthcare for the under sixes. It is our aim to phase in free access to primary healthcare for all citizens over a ten year period.

“About 53 per cent of our population has private health insurance and the Green Party believes that community rating and risk equalisation are the fairest ways to ensure equality of treatment for those taking out insurance. It is clear, however, that increasing numbers of people are turning to health insurance because they lack confidence in our public health system. If we are to begin to tackle the two-tiered health system we must start investing in crucial elements of the public health service. It should be noted that A&E units do not distinguish between public and private and that, similarly, over 73 per cent of people in our public hospitals, whether they be private or insured, come through A&E.

“We are committed to providing an extra consultants for the public health service. But it is clear that money is not the only impediment to achieving a satisfactory resolution to the ongoing dispute with consultants. Many consultants who are committed to delivering a top-class public health service have stated that the contract, as advertised, lacks sufficient administration time. These issues cannot be ignored, and indeed, should have been resolved years ago.”

“We also believe that greater efficiencies can be introduced into the system in relation to types of payment and that the HSE must become more accountable,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

Green Party Health spokesperson John Gormley TD has called on the Government to set a date for the introduction of a 35-hour working work for nurses, before an all-out strike occurs.

Deputy Gormley said: “We now have seven days in which the Government and the HSE can de-escalate this dispute. This could be resolved by giving the nurses’ representative bodies a date for the introduction of a 35-hour week. If this was done any outstanding problems in relation to pay increases under benchmarking could be quickly resolved.

“The nurses have indicated that they are more than willing to be flexible and they do not want this dispute to escalate into full-scale industrial action. It is regrettable that their expectations of flexibility from the Government and HSE, was not fulfilled.

“In a letter to the INO the Taoiseach indicated that the Government was prepared to engage fully and with an open mind with the nurses’ representatives. Regrettably this did not happen. Instead any attempt to get a date for the introduction of a 35-hour week was resolutely refused.

“The Green Party believes that the nurses and their unions have legitimate grievances and the Government must face up to these by setting a date for the introduction of a 35-hour working week to bring this dispute to an end.”

– Minister must investigate unused funds and call off FF attack dogs

Green Party Chairman and Health spokesperson John Gormley TD today accused Environment Minister Dick Roche of engaging in spin and smear and called on him to concentrate on solving the problems of water contamination in Galway and elsewhere.

Deputy Gormley said: “The Minister’s implication that Mayor Niall Ó Brolcháin had access to €21.5m is absolutely absurd. What the people of Galway need now are practical solutions, not ridiculous accusations, and a full investigation of what occurred. Any such investigation will quickly reveal that Mayor Ó Brolcháin has for years been striving – often on his own – to improve the safety of water on behalf of the people of Galway.

“The Mayor has a thick file containing the representations he has made to city officials and the Government over the years on the urgency of upgrading Galway’s water treatment facilities – the very issue which has led to this dangerous outbreak of cryptosporidium.

“The €21.5m allocated by the Government for capital investment in Galway’s water treatment facilities was available only to city officials, and was beyond the budgetary control of elected councillors. The Mayor would dearly love to have been able to use these funds for their proper purpose, but the reality, under the current political system, is that elected local authorities simply do not have sufficient powers. The disaster in Galway adds a great deal of impetus to our calls for political reform in order to give local authorities and directly elected mayors the powers they need to properly serve their communities.

“The Minister should launch an independent investigation into why council officials did not make use of funds available for capital investment in the city’s water treatment facilities sooner.

“While Niall Ó Brolcháin was striving to protect public health, the Fianna Fail members of Galway City Council either did nothing or mocked him, in one case accusing him of scare-mongering. The Minister should call off the attack dogs, and silence his two-faced colleagues on Galway City Council. I am convinced they will be considerably quieter when the truth of their own inaction emerges from this crisis.”

Deputy Gormley meanwhile praised the efforts of the Deputy Mayor of Clare, Cllr Brian Meaney, who has been actively trying to improve water quality in Clare since he was elected to the county council, and who now faces a potential cryptosporidium crisis in his own county.

“Cryptosporidium is already in the water supply in Ennis and it may only be a matter of time before levels surge and an outbreak occurs. A lack of infrastructure and a failure to update an antiquated water supply, which also leaks millions of litres of water a day, has led to this situation. The Government needs to listen to Cllr Meaney and take action in Clare before it is too late.” Deputy Gormley warned.

The Green Party today reiterated its total opposition to the Government’s ‘co-location’ plans to build private hospitals on public land.

Green Party Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said: “I stated quite clearly at our party conference last month that the Green Party, in Government, is strongly opposed to the building of private hospitals on public land and would end any tax breaks that might aid the privatisation of our health service. If in Government with like-minded parties, it is clear that these building projects will very quickly run into difficulties. While we would honour contracts previously signed it would be hugely devious and dishonest of the outgoing Government to rush through these contracts in its final hours.

“The Progressive Democrats and their ideologically flexible allies in Fianna Fail are intent on entrenching inequality. We do not agree on the promotion of a two-tiered health system where treatment is given on the basis of ability to pay rather than medical need. Fianna Fail, in the past, has committed itself to equal access of all patients. This latest move by the PDs runs in the face of that. If Fianna Fail continues to support the PDs in these moves then it can no longer say it is committed to social justice,” Deputy Gormley concluded.

Green Party Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that Ireland has been exposed as the ’sickman of Europe’ when it comes to alcohol abuse, following today’s report showing Ireland has the highest number of binge drinkers in the EU.

Deputy Gormely said: “While many Irish people and their children will be enjoying the planned festivities and events over the holiday weekend, a significant number will be binge drinking and ending up in our hospitals and courts. This is not a new phenomenon and after dozens of reports and a high level task force on the issue, the Government has had plenty of opportunity to tackle the problem.

“Since 2004, most of the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol have been languishing in the filing cabinets of the Government. What has been the reaction of Fianna Fáil and the PDs to the growing problem of alcohol abuse in Ireland?; surrender to the drinks industry, the shelving of the Alcohol Products Bill and the withdrawl of the Groceries Order, which allows off-licences to sell alcohol at below cost.

“With the news that one supermarket is offering ‘buy 12 cans, get 12 free’, it is obvious that calls for the responsible selling of alcohol have fallen on deaf ears. Self-regulation in the in the off-licence sector is not working. The Government must now step in and urgently implement all the recommendations of the Task Force. The Green Party will make this a priority in Government and will not put the interests of the alcohol industry and retailers ahead of the those of society.”

The Green Party today said that it would stop the fluoridation of Irish water supplies if elected to Government. Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that water fluoridation had reached its sell-by date and that the latest international research meant that fluoridation was no longer tenable.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, Deputy Gormley said: “The latest advice from the American Dental Association tells parents to avoid using fluoridated water when bottle feeding babies because of the dangers of fluorosis - the staining and pitting of teeth which can result from overexposure to fluoride. This advice should be heeded. The balance of international evidence proves that water fluoridation should be stopped immediately.

“There has been a huge increase in fluorosis in Ireland in the last decade. And as it is wholly impractical for mothers to source non-fluoridated water, it is prudent to stop water fluoridation immediately. There have been no increases in incidences of tooth decay in countries that stopped fluoridating their water supplies. We are satisfied that such a move in Ireland would not lead to increased dental caries. In fact, countries throughout Europe which do not fluoridate have better dental health than Ireland. It is now proven that fluoride does not need to be ingested to prevent dental caries, as had been previously thought. This means that fluoridated toothpaste is more that adequate to deal with dental decay.

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A new version of John Gormley’s address to the Green Party National Convention in Galway has been posted on Google Video. This version is superior to the earlier footage posted on YouTube, which only featured one camera angle. This version has wider shots of the audience and convention stage, and includes the entire speech in one clip:

Update: This version is now available on YouTube also.

John Gormley’s speech to the Green Party convention has been posted on YouTube. Because of the 10-minute limit on video clips on YouTube, it has been split into two 7-minute sections.

Part 1:

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John Gormley TD gave his Cathaoirleach’s address to the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas National Convention in Galway on Saturday 24th February 2006.

Listen to an audio recording of the speech.

The full text of the speech is available below. (more…)