Sir, - We are a community of poor, sick and old people, probably amongst the worst off in the EU. Some are as old as 84 years, some cannot read or write. We are all dependent on the good heart of the social services, and by extension, on the taxpayers and our elected representatives in our democracy.
Last summer this writer had a phone call from Councillor Roisin Shortall, our Labour Party TD, to tell us that the finance officer of the Eastern Health Board had allocated our committee a running expenses grant to the tune of £300. It never happened. It was fiction. If Roisin Shortall the chairperson of the EHB, cannot be trusted by the old, sick and poor, then who can we turn to?
Further, the other day one of our old folks who is riddled with arthritis had his home help service reduced from five days a week to three. So now he has had no fire on four days a week. Who can we turn to? The Home Help Service is grant aided by the EHB, which according to AGM reports in The Irish Times has an annual turnover of £500m. And all this in a booming economy. - Yours etc
Secretary,
St. Helena's Senior
Citizens Action Committee, St. Helena's Court,
Finglas South, Dublin 11.
