Sinn Fein Councillor John Brady Pleads for People to Assist the Gardaí.

Speaking in response to reports that an improvised devise exploded early this morning in a residential area of Dunlavin county Wicklow; Sinn Fein candidate in the general election Councillor John Brady has pleaded for people with information to come forward to Gardaí as soon as possible:

“The people of Dunlavin are understandably in shock after the events of this morning and the Gardaí are doing a tremendous job trying to get to the bottom of it. However, I would plead to anyone who has information to contact the Gardaí as soon as possible in order to help expedite the investigation. Even if people are unsure if what they suspect is of any importance, I would encourage them to contact the Gardaí immediately if they have not already done so.”

Councillor Brady went on to say that the incident is a terrifying experience for the local people:

“Thankfully it would appear that nobody was injured, however it appears that the device certainly had the capacity cause serious injury or worse. My colleague in the area councillor Gerry O’ Neill spoke to local residents shortly after the news broke; they are stunned that something like this could occur in their quiet little town, the entire experience has been very frightening, and people are at a loss to figure out how and why something like this could visit their doorsteps. Clearly whomever is responsible has no regard for the safety of the local community and needs to apprehended and brought before the courts as soon as possible.”

Irish Government Prolongs its Neglect of Citizens with Disabilities - Brady

Speaking recently in relation to the challenges faced by people living with disabilities, Sinn Fein candidate for Wicklow in the general election Councillor John Brady believes the government’s failure to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) is a black mark on their record.

“Ireland signed up to the CRPD in 2007 but has done little since then to implement it. While over 150 governments world- wide have ratified the convention, Ireland stands embarrassed as our government have failed to make headway over the last eight years. The Fianna Fail and Green coalition followed by this Fine Gael/Labour government have both put the issue of serving citizens with disabilities - as required under the convention - firmly on the back burner. This is evidenced by their failure to provide a ratification deadline signing date which would instill urgency into the ratification process.”

Councillor Brady went on to suggest that this failure could be seen as a deliberate act in order to facilitate their discriminatory austerity agenda:
“This government have spent the last few years cutting supports to people with disabilities including allowances, medical cards and home help services. This has been done despite the aims of the convention the Irish government agreed to abide by. Article one of the convention states:
‘The purpose of the present convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.’

Councillor Brady continued:

“In other words, governments must refrain from engaging in any actions that might adversely affect the person’s opportunity to live full and equal lives in society. Had the Fianna Fail government ratified the convention before it left office, it is highly unlikely that our current government could have succeeded in implementing cuts with such detrimental consequences without contravening their obligations. As such, we can only assume that both Fine Gael and Labour purposely excluded ratification of the CRPD in order to remove such international legal barriers.”

In conclusion Councillor Brady stated “There is no legal or constitutional reason for the Government not to ratify the CRDP. It is simply a matter of policy and priority. Ratification would preclude the Government from inflicting harsh cuts to services and supports for people with disabilities. It is clear that sticking to an austerity agenda is more important to Fine Gael and Labour than vindicating the rights of people with disabilities.”

Cllr John Brady welcomes Sinn Féin's endorsement of Right2Change policy principles

Sinn Féin's General Election candidate in Wicklow, Cllr John Brady, has welcomed his party's decision to endorse the broad policy platform agreed by Right2Change.

He said;

"The issues impacting the people of Wicklow, if they are to be comprehensively addressed, require the election of as many progressive candidates at the forthcoming general election.

"Sinn Féin wants to see a progressive government in power after the next general election and we want to be part of that administration. We believe that such a change is an absolute necessity in order to defend the interests of ordinary people and to begin the work of repairing the damage caused to our public services. On that basis, Sinn Féin is happy to endorse the broad policy platform agreed by Right2Change.

"This policy platform provides a common space for progressive parties and independents to fight the forthcoming general election. It does not replace the manifesto of any political party but it does represent points of shared agreement. Most importantly, it provides a fantastic opportunity to maximise the number of progressive TDs elected to Dáil. This would obviously increase the chances of a progressive government being formed after the general election.

"Along with the right to water dimension, the Right2Change principles support the right to housing. They stress the importance of decent work with decent pay. They are grounded in an anti-poverty perspective and the demand for equal access to quality healthcare. These should be the pillars of any fair society.

"As our Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald has outlined, Sinn Féin believes that parties and candidates who share this platform and who agree on these principles should, whilst attending to their own election campaigns, equally encourage people to transfer to other like-minded candidates."

For a Fair Recovery: Pearse Doherty TD to address public meeting in Wicklow - Cllr John Brady

Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty T.D. will address a public meeting in Arklow, Co Wicklow on Monday, November 2nd. The meeting will take place at the Arklow Bay Hotel at 7.30pm. Deputy Doherty will be speaking on the economy, the regressive nature of Budget 2016, Sinn Fein's alternative and the need for a Fair Recovery. He will be joined by Sinn Féin General Election candidate Cllr John Brady.

Cllr Brady said;

"The supposed "recovery" of Fine Gael and the Labour Party is one firmly rooted in austerity. It is still centred on the principle of protecting the wealth of the higher echelons of society to detriment of everybody else. Budget 2016 was very much tailored with the forthcoming general election to mind.

"The ordinary people of Wicklow need a recovery that is fair. We need to get families off housing lists and into homes. We need to deliver equal access to healthcare. Families shouldn't be weighed down with unjust water charges and the property tax.

"Pearse Doherty TD has been to the forefront of developing and articulating Sinn Féin’s alternative. It is fundamentally different to plan being followed by this detached and arrogant government. We want to see a recovery of which ordinary people are the main beneficiaries and where our most vulnerable citizens are protected. Sinn Féin will end the government-driven marginalisation of our towns and villages. We will stop the decimation of our vital public services.

"The next general election is all about fairness versus inequality. The recovery must be felt by the ordinary people of Wicklow. Sinn Féin wants to build a government that believes that the principle of social solidarity is the best way forward for our country.

"I am inviting anybody who wishes to engage with that vision to come to the meeting on November 2nd to express your views."

Cllr John Brady urges Wicklow fishermen to attend conference hosted by Liadh Ní Riada MEP

Sinn Féin Councillor John Brady has welcomed the announcement that MEP Liadh Ní Riada will host a major fisheries policy conference in Dungarvan on Saturday, October 24th,

The conference will bring fishermen, fisheries experts and government agencies together to hammer out a strategy to support and grow the fishing industry around the coast.

Councillor Brady urged fishermen from Wicklow's coastal communities to attend the conference to voice their opinions and concerns.
He said:
“I welcome that fact that MEP Liadh Ní Riada will host a policy conference on fisheries in Dungarvan next Saturday week. It's long past time that our fishing industry was given the attention it deserves. Sinn Féin supports a sustainable fishing industry that acts as a driver of the local economy in coastal communities.
“Liadh is Ireland's only representative on the EU fisheries committee and is a proactive voice for fishermen in Europe and in Ireland. She will ensure that the voice of coastal communities and those who depend on the sea for their livelihoods will be heard. Bringing together a broad cross-section the fishing industry to feed into a comprehensive national policy is the first step in rejuvenating a sector that has been long neglected by successive governments.
"Unlike this and previous governments, Sinn Féin will continue to campaign domestically and abroad on various fisheries issues and our proposed policies, such as a Single Boat Payment scheme which Liadh Ní Riada has been highlighting with the European Commission. In government we would press for a renegotiated financial instrument that will accommodate the scheme under a truly reformed Common Fisheries Policy.
"We are also exploring legal avenues regarding illegal fishing by foreign trawlers and how they can be deterred; especially larger super-trawlers who are given space to buy up a disproportionate of quotas then fish past their quotas, reaping devastation on fish stocks and small fishermen as a result.
“Liadh along with her colleagues in GUE/NGL also submitted a proposal for funding for a pilot project on the creation of a public insurance system for those in the fisheries sector who due to unforeseen events could by adversely impacted by a number of factors, such as natural disasters, forced stops being enforced by recovery plans or sudden restrictions on access to resources, all of which would cut incomes.
“The conference itself will take place in Lawlors Hotel on Saturday 24th October and there is an open invitation to attend and participate in the discussions. I would urge fishermen from Greystones, Wicklow Town and Arklow to attend the conference if they can. I am also asking all those with an interest in seeing a strong, vibrant and sustainable fishing industry to go along and ensure their voice is heard.”
Registration for the conference begins at 9am on Saturday morning. There will be a number of local, national and European speakers on topics such as Ensuring Sustainability without Criminalising Fishermen, Adding Value and Economic Diversification; and Uniting to Ensure the Future of Fishing in Ireland.”

Government attempts to brush the healthcare crisis under the carpet in Budget 2016 - Cllr John Brady

Sinn Fein’s Wicklow General Election candidate Cllr John Brady has said that the government has attempted to brush the healthcare crisis under the carpet in Budget 2016. He stated that the measures introduced by the Fine Gael and Labour Party government do very little to improve frontline and equality of access to health services.

Councillor Brady added that the lack of vision Budget 2016 will only compound the problems faced by patients in Wicklow which followed from the closure of the A&E department in St Columcille's hospital and the consequent overcrowding at St. Vincent's Hospital.

He said;

"The Government has attempted to brush the healthcare crisis under the carpet with the measures introduced in Budget 2016. They have gone for a headline-grabbing measure by extending free GP Care to children under the age of twelve. Any extension to this scheme should have been done on the basis of income and medical need.

"We have to remember that this government promised to extend free GP care to the entire population, starting with the holders of long term illness cards. They have long abandoned this commitment to those with chronic illness and disability.

"Instead of investing in improving frontline delivery and improving equality of access in our hospitals and A&E departments, this government has decided to only invest a paltry €18 million in our health system. This is an astonishing decision when you consider the scale of the overcrowding crisis and the fact that so many people have to wait years before they can access vital treatments and procedures.

"It is clear that the problems faced by the people of Wicklow, in the area of healthcare, will only be compounded by the lack of vision in Budget 2016.

"In their first three budgets Fine Gael and Labour cut €2.5b from the health budget. In 2013 they also closed the A&E department in St. Columcille’s hospital. 21,000 patients annually used that critical service. It was vital service for the people of Wicklow. These patients have been forced upon the already overwhelmed St. Vincent's Hospital, where the nurses are currently engaged in a work to rule due to their concerns about patient safety and the trolley crisis there.

"There is nothing in this budget to address the crisis in our hospitals. There is only an additional €18m new health spend after demographics and a pay restoration.

"Sinn Féin would have allocated an additional €383m for healthcare. This would provide for 1900 new positions within the system and gone some way to addressing the unequal, two-tier delivery of healthcare in this state.”

Wicklow TDs helped create crisis in St. Vincents Hospital

Speaking in response to the crises at Saint Vincents Hospital Emergency department where nursing staff have initiated a work to rule protest; Sinn Fein Councillor and candidate for Wicklow in the upcoming general election John Brady has said the dispute is a direct consequence of the closure of emergency services at Saint Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown.

“The nursing staff at St Vincents have taken this action due to the hospital’s failure to provide extra staff to care for overcrowding in the emergency department, and concern over the difficulty to provide the best possible care to their patients in such circumstances. They are under immense pressure with as many as 100 patients crammed into an area that is designed to care for just 18. Trolley numbers at St Vincents are up by almost 140 % in comparison to the same period last year. This reflects the problem nationally where hundreds of people are left on trolleys waiting on treatment along corridors in emergency units all over the state. I fully commend and support the nurses who have taken this action out of concern for patient safety.”

Councillor Brady went on to say that the consequences of closing the emergency department at St Columcille’s Loughlinstown are now being played out in the corridors of St Vincents:

“At the time Sinn Fein fiercely objected to the closure of services at St Columcilles. However all 5 Wicklow TD’s; Stephen Donnelly, Anne Ferris, Simon Harris, Billy Timmins and Andrew Doyle supported the move back in 2013. In fact, Billy Timmins was quoted as saying that he fully believed the ‘public will see an improvement’ within two or three years. He was wrong. Simon Harris at the time said he accepted that Wicklow was the ‘poor relation’ of the HSE and called for better primary care and ambulance services for the area. Four years in government and he has not lifted a finger to deliver the very services he accepted were necessary. As a result we now have a crisis in the emergency department of one of the largest hospitals in the state. Had St Columcille’s service been upgraded and kept open as Sinn Fein argued for, St Vincents would have far fewer patients on trolleys and nursing staff would not be forced into taking the action they have embarked on. ”

In conclusion Councillor Brady called on Local TD Simon Harris to appeal to Health Minister Leo Varadker to intervene in the dispute:

“The closure of St Columcille’s emergency department was as a result of another broken promise courtesy of the Labour Party. Now that St Vincents is suffering the effects, I would plead with Wicklow TD and Minister of State Simon Harris to intercede on behalf of the patients and staff, and call on Health Minister Leo Varadker to immediately address the staffing and financial crisis at the hospital.”