Madam, - The public health doctors are behaving irresponsibly and I am astounded by their behaviour.
Whatever their dispute with the Minister, it should be put aside and dealt with when the present crisis is over.
I dread to think what other nations must be thinking of us at this time. This is not a matter of deciding whether the demands of the doctors are justified or not, or whether the Minister has a case to answer, because just like the story of the man who died disputing his right of way, if this crisis escalates, even if the doctors feel that they are right, there would be several people just as dead as if they had been wrong.
I am tired of listening to these doctors shouting over the airwaves to gain support for their own cause, but all they are doing is demeaning their profession and bringing it into disrepute, as will any other doctors who support them.
They are privileged people and they should concern themselves with a little less high living and low thinking and support the people of this country at this time instead of behaving like emotional terrorists.
Since it is the job of the Minister for Defence and the Army to defend this country from dangers to this State from within or without, I feel that the Government should now appoint medical officers forthwith, from outside this country if necessary, to the Department of Defence to deal with this situation so that we are never left in this vulnerable state again. - Yours, etc.,
MARY MAHER,
Ardra,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.
Madam, - The fact that 80 per cent of the public health service doctors are women is very significant. Women workers can be left to wait. Thirty years after the introduction of equal pay for work of equal value women still earn much the same now as they did then, about 70 per cent of the average male wage.
Some years ago I compared the gender ratio of permanent and temporary hospital consultants. Over 50 per cent of the temporary posts were filled by women but only 12 per cent of the permanent posts, even though the same qualifications were needed.
The public health doctors have waited nine years to be paid, as promised then, for the work they do outside their regular hours. Meningitis, measles and even SARS do not arise on a nine to five basis.
Mark Hennessy writes (April 26th): "But now is not the time to strike. They should get back to work, even if only temporarily, until the worst is over". We have no knowledge of the possible length of time SARS may be with us. Should they wait years, as they have waited already?
Mr Hennessy finishes his article by saying if these doctors do not go back to work they should be sacked. My concern is that, especially after Mr Micheál Martin's words at the IMO Conference last Friday, we could have a mass resignation.
No-one appreciates the work of the public health doctors until something goes wrong. They are entitled to say they are fed up with shoring up a badly organised public health service on a pro bono basis. - Yours, etc.,
SENATOR MARY HENRY, Seanad Éireann, Baile Átha Cliath, 2.