Sir, – With the recent summer economic statement and kite-flying about the impending budget, it seems inevitable that once again venal politics will trump good government.
Pre-election sweeteners, with “one for everyone in the audience”, will make little difference to our most disadvantaged citizens and communities, who depend heavily on public services for their quality of life.
A case in point are our “pot luck” mental health services (“‘Pot luck’ mental health services failing patients”, News, July 8th). You quote the State’s inspector of mental health services, Prof Jim Lucey, as saying “the acute services are at a critical point of dilapidation”.
The shoddy treatment of patients, many locked up against their will in these impoverished “care” settings, is arguably a violation of their human rights and has all the makings of the next national scandal to be exposed by an investigative report, followed years later by a multibillion redress scheme.
In reply to Prof Lucey’s remarks, you report that the HSE trumpets “a record funding level” of €1.3 billion, which just happens to be around 5 per cent of total health spending and half the Government’s own 2024 promise of 10 per cent. In the UK it is 10 per cent and in France 13 per cent to 14 per cent.
Good government would see the marshalling and deployment of the resources needed to deal effectively with this and other shameful deficits in our public services, eliminate inter-generational poverty ghettos in our cities and address grave infrastructure risks, such as Dublin’s water supply , which is “on a knife edge” (“Our tax take needs to increase to fund badly needed infrastructure”, John FitzGerald, Economics, July 12th). It is indicative of the immaturity of our political culture that the spirit of Charlie McCreevy still haunts Leinster House: against all independent warnings and advice, “if I have it I’ll spend it”. – Yours, etc,
EDDIE MOLLOY,
(former chair of Mental Health Reform),
Dublin 6