Is Bertie willing to ignore public opinion and give Harnney the health dept agian? So the people vote on the PD party seems not to matter, are we happy with how she has handle the health dept so far : cancer care in the west none existant, no beds and not even enought trolleys??? democratic election my foot. We vote them out, but yet thay stay the same.
First off, the PD collapse has very little to do with health. It had far more to do with MMcD flip flopping and constant negativity. Secondly no one voted the PDs "out", they still have two (critical) seats. Thirdly there's no one in their right mind who would take on Health. They should erect the statue of an albatross of the MoH building and be done with it. Fourthy (and most importantly) in every poll on the issue the public supports Harney on the key stategy of co-location.
The govt won the referendum on health if you want to regard the election as that. Harney held her seat - Twomey lost his. The hospital-candidates lost their seats. Harney wins. KO.
Could end up being a big mistake by Ahern.. should the Health Service not get sorted out by the next election, it would be a legitimate attack policy of the Opposition to claim that the people rejected Harney, but he put her back in regardless.
Its a win situation for FF. Their developer buddies get tax subsidies to build new hospitials. The medical elite get tax breaks in their search for gross profits. In the short term, waiting lists are reduced for the next election. As unprofitable procedures become backed up in the public sector, FF can blame the PD's for their health agenda. It's indeed revealing that the PD's don't talk in terms of health service anymore but talk solely about the health agenda.
She has done so well. there will be people on trolley tonight so be gratful to her.
Consultant in dispute with her, nice work.
Less dentist dealing with medical card holder, well done.
etc etc etc
Did I imagine it or did someone point out in a post here that Harney's husband is involved with a firm which would benefit if co-location goes ahead ?
The election wasnt about Health, it was about the economy....stupidOriginally Posted by FutureTaoiseach
Harney held her seat with her popular vote and barely made it, it was by no means a mandate from the people of Ireland to continue with PD policy in Health when the rest of the party was obliterated by the electorate.
Now that really is opinion posing as fact.
The consultants need to be taken on.
There should be zero private beds in public hospitals.
Harney should get health.
She is the right person for the job.
I'm not sure you have all that good a handle on public opinion in this area. Then again, I'm not sure I do either. So I'll just set out what I think is the likely thinking here on the part of Ahern, and do so with a big "maybe" attached...Is Bertie willing to ignore public opinion and give Harnney the health dept agian? So the people vote on the PD party seems not to matter, are we happy with how she has handle the health dept so far : cancer care in the west none existant, no beds and not even enought trolleys??? democratic election my foot. We vote them out, but yet thay stay the same.
Yes, there is a level of disquiet at the idea of co-location. It certainly won't help the problem of inequality, and people are right to be concerned about that.
However, recent Irish election results suggest that the great Irish people are not all that bothered about inequality in general, or health inequality in particular. Those who are most concerned are fairly unlikely to vote for Fianna Fáil anyhow. It might be a nicer country if Vincent Browne set the tone for debate but he clearly does not and will not.
In addition, if co-location does contribute to greater inequality, it won't be all that obvious and attributable to that one policy alone.
Now, to stay still in the imaginary shoes of Ahern, there truly is a significant level of dissatisfaction about the health service in general, as opposed to inequality. How to fix it, or at least make notable improvements? Well, on this point, co-location has some attractions. Although the price may be greater inequality, it could free up considerable bed space in public hospitals. It helps negotiate with consultants and so make important progress there. Above all, there's a chance that improvements will be seen within the next electoral cycle.
Looking at the alternative to co-location, hoping against hope that our public hospitals will sort themselves out, well... it's not all that encouraging. If that was something likely to happen, why hasn't it happened by now?
So, all in all, co-location has a certain amount of unpopularity around it as a policy idea. But even more damaging at the ballot box for FF is the prospect of no real improvement in health, even as more and more money is spent in the area. So for that point of view, there is much to be said for ploughing ahead with co-location. It's the least worst of the options on the table. And Harney can take the most unpopular Ministry.
