Campaign to save the A&E in St. Columcilles Hospital to hold Rally in Bray

SOS Wicklow the campaign group which was established to fight the planned downgrading of the 24hour A&E at St.Columcilles hospital in Loughlinstown is to hold a public rally in Bray on Saturday 25th February. It will start at 1.30pm at the Town Hall in Bray and will proceed to Castle street in Little Bray.


Speaking ahead of the rally the groups secretary Melanie McAuley said "SOS Wicklow has organised this rally which will take place in Bray on Saturday 25th February as part of our campaign to save the A&E in St.Columcilles Hospital, Loughlinstown. We have been told by the HSE that the downgrading of the critical facility will take place in the first quarter of 2012, so these cuts are now imminent, the public rally in Bray may well be our last chance for people to come out and show their support for the retention of the A&E in Loughlinstown,"


The chairperson of SOS Wicklow Cllr. John Brady said "The HSE has stated that the review of the services in St.Columcilles be undertaken during the months of September and October 2011, we know it is their intention to withdraw the 24hour A&E in St.Columcilles and it is expected to happen over the next few weeks. This is a political decision, so political pressure needs to be brought to bare on our national politicians and this can only be done by people power and by taking to the streets on Saturday 25th. This may be our last opportunity for people to take a stand on this issue and we need to do so in large numbers"

Melanie McAuley concluded "We have ran a long campaign on this issue, we have collected thousands of signatures on a county wide petition and this will be presented to the Minister for Health James Reilly in the coming weeks, we now need all those people and everyone else who wants to save our A&E on the streets of Bray on Saturday 25th February at 1.30pm. We need to send the message loud and clear that the people of Wicklow want our Hospital upgraded not downgraded"

Martin Ferris TD to attend public meeting in Wicklow to Oppose the Septic Tank Charges

Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris will be the guest speaker at the public
meeting being held by the party as part of the campaign to oppose
Septic Tank Charges, it will take place on Wednesday 15th February in
the Glenview Hotel in the Glen of the Downs, the meeting will start at
8pm.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John
Brady said " The public meeting on Wednesday 15th February is part of
Sinn Féin's campaign of opposition against the Septic Tank charges and
follows on from a very successful meeting that Sinn Féin held in
Baltinglass recently. There is genuine outrage in rural areas over
these plans and Sinn Féin and the public has exerted pressure on the
Government at both local and national levels, this has resulted in
them trying to muddy the water on the issue. The government must stop
playing mind games with the registration cost. The registration fee,
regardless of cost, is not the biggest concern for families. The key
issue is the standard against which their tanks will be assessed and
the cost of upgrading.

“Phil Hogan has moved the goal posts on several occasions. The appeals
process was to cost €200 now it is reduced to €20 while the
registration is now a once off €5. All these changes, while welcome,
were brought about by public pressure. But the core issues for the
public are the funding of upgrades and the standards. The current
situation is farcical. We have legislation that demands the
registration of septic tanks and the upgrading of these septic tanks
but there are no standards to assess them by and no financial
assistance for households to carry out the necessary work. The
legislation as it stands is extremely punitive. It dictates that
householders will be dragged through the courts and may be fined up to
€5,000 if they cannot comply with these secret standards. This
threatening behaviour by Minster Hogan is unacceptable and will be
rejected by the public" Brady continued.

Cllr Brady finished by saying "I am delighted that Sinn Féin Deputy's
Martin Ferris and Michael Colreavy will be present at the meeting on
Wednesday in the Glenview and it will give the public an opportunity
get find out more information on this important subject. We will also
discuss the Household Charge and Water Taxes and on the night we will
be launching a County wide petition to oppose these family taxes and
we will continue to build a campaign to against them"