Leo Varadkar resigns as Taoiseach

Cyclonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925649#Comment_121925649

In terms of where cuts could be made, the government's spending data website is useful in allowing you to drill into the various types of government expenditure. Some are still amalgamated, but it gives you a rough idea of where the money is going.

For 2024, total projected government expenditure is €110.1 billion, compared with €77.0 billion in 2019 and €70.5 billion in 2014. The 'additional departments' category has seen expenditure increase from €7.4 billion in 2019 (excluding housing which is listed as one of the main categories of spending in 2024) to €22.8 billion in 2024. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs had a budget of €1.52 billion in 2019, while its expanded version, the Department of Children, Equality,Disability, Integration and Youth has a projected expenditure of €7.44 billion this year. Even allowing for the costs associated with free child care and accommodation of asylum seekers, such an increase (likely provided to give the Green Party another substantial portfolio in government) so quickly would likely mean a significant amount of taxpayers money is being spent poorly, not getting value for money.

In terms of education, which you mention, it should be another candidate for analysis by a future government (one of many); though the headline rate of expenditure is €10.9 billion for both years, the 2024 figure doesn't include the additional €4.26 billion of expenditure by the newly created Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the year. Don't get me wrong, education was underfunded for years, but an almost 40% increase in expenditure in 5 years suggests just chucking money at the area, which has not proven to be too successful a policy in Ireland in the past.

Raoul Duke III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925655#Comment_121925655

And what policies will these Independents implement for you?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925796#Comment_121925796

A party that has "cut quango spending" as a policy is never going to be able to coherently come up with suggestions for actual cuts, though. That's my point.

Its a fundamental misunderstanding from the off.

Cyclonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925717#Comment_121925717

If someone is having a heart attack, to give one example, a mediocre hospital 5 miles away might prove a lot more useful than a good hospital 50 miles away, as many families, including my own, have seen. Specialist hospitals are useful, but a lack of adequate medical facilities in a local community places lives at risk.

HalloweenJack

A handful of independents can be useful as they can be bought and sold when support is needed. Of course, they can also hold governments to ransom but they do play an important role in getting investment for forgotten areas (Gregory, the Healy-Raes).

However, a large number of glorified county councillors is not going to help national governance. Their inherent selfish, transactional nature means they'll always be looking for a deal. In an already splintered government, having a large number outside the whip who can change their mind from vote to vote is not going to lead to a stable government that can make big plans and work on big issues.

A too high number of independents leads to a weaker government, imo, and increases the likelihood that the next government won't make it to the end of the term. It dilutes the role of governance and just leads to money grabs for vanity projects in their own constituencies.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925846#Comment_121925846

Firstly, having a hospital that close to most of the population is impossible given our density and secondly, no they quite frequently would not be better off going to the mediocre hospital a few miles away. Regional EDs that were shut down for example had significantly higher mortality rates from incidences such as heart attacks.

This is the kind of thing that local independent politicians just don't care about though.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925846#Comment_121925846

If you go to a small hospital with a heart attack, you die. Ditto a stroke, or anything else complicated.

We still have too many emergency departments for a country of this size; but no party is going to propose closing more.

Cyclonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925952#Comment_121925952

When my cousin had his heart attack last year, he would not have made it to a hospital 50 miles away. He was lucky, as the medical staff told him, that he was as close to the local hospital as he was.

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925952#Comment_121925952

The real problem is that we don't have enough hospital beds for a country of this size which has created a poor perception of the centres of excellence and calls for some of the facilities that were rolled into bigger hospitals to remain open/have increased service delivery etc.

Ireland 2.9 beds per 1000 whilst the EU average is 5.

Look at the shitshow in the midwest. Is it any wonder people don't want to have to go to UHL

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925998#Comment_121925998

The outcome would have been the same had it been one of the tiny local EDs we had in the past.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926007#Comment_121926007

The staff that would be needed to have Ennis and Nenagh open as full service hospitals simply don't exist; that's the issue. There's closed beds in many primary hospitals also due to short staffing.

How to get staff to come in on a basis of "if we get enough of you to come here/come back/not leave in the first place, things will be better" is the near impossible task that the Minister for Health and the HSE need to figure out.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925717#Comment_121925717

Thirty years ago when we were supposedly poor, we had county hospitals within 20-30 miles. Both now downgraded and one practically only a nursing home with some day services like optician. Services migrate further away year by year.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925819#Comment_121925819

Policies that support & facilitate those living in rural Ireland and who wish to continue living there. That they can make a living, get education, access health services and without having to increasingly drive further & further to do these things. That they can live where they grew up instead of being obliged to go to Dublin etc and be screwed by rental costs.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926035#Comment_121926035

Thirty years ago when we were supposedly poor, we had county hospitals within 20-30 miles. Both now downgraded and one practically only a nursing home with some day services like optician. Services migrate further away year by year.

And the services are significantly better as a result.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926035#Comment_121926035

Those county hospitals were never decent, though. Dangerous ED services have been removed from many, but to lots of complaints. Dangerous, tiny maternity services were closed all over the country in the 80s to rather less complaint and resulted in a significant drop in mortality rates for both mother and child.

Emergency departments need access to consultants across a huge range of specialities, immediately - something small county hospitals never had. So you went there to be triaged, and die before getting seen by the appropriate specialist.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926037#Comment_121926037

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926048#Comment_121926048

Sorry, not convinced. There's an old saying that 'justice delayed is justice denied'. Much the same applies to health, it's feck all use having 'significantly better' services if when you need an ambulance to bring you the 50 miles, it takes hours if ever to turn up.

Raoul Duke III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925443#Comment_121925443

Well that's the dichotomy in a nutshell.

"We need new housing!" (Just not near me)

"We need new housing!" (But the market value of my house better not be impacted)

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926106#Comment_121926106

The ambulance bases are not connected to hospital locations, so that won't change at all

If being brought to die in a crap hospital is something you think is good, OK then. But the medical profession doesn't, thankfully.

We still have a completely nuts level of hospitals in this country - extensively down to the old system of councils and previously poor law unions being responsible for their provision. We ended up with a tiny hospital per poor law union and a mental hospital per county; with a few exceptions.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926106#Comment_121926106

Sorry, not convinced. There's an old saying that 'justice delayed is justice denied'. Much the same applies to health

Except it doesn't and there is significant proof of such.

If you have a stroke you are far better off being treated in one of the stroke centres and the extra hour it takes to get there is a price worth paying for the massively better care you will receive because you are less likely to die or be permanently disabled. Which, personally, I think is a good thing.

crossman47

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121924283#Comment_121924283

There is no point talking to someone who thinks they do it all by themselves. Leo, for all his faults, showed great leadership during Covid. Paschal has done good job on the nation's finances. You would create a lot less wealth if these were handled badly.

lisasimpson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926024#Comment_121926024

Of all the ED closed in the mid west. Ennis should have its ED reopened and i say that as living in Nenagh.It has triple the population of Nenagh and geographically better positioned as not only would it help Limerick but also Galway. It could be a lower level hospital like what portlaoise operates as with Tullamore.

I'd go and have in the past gone to Portloaise rather than Limerick that's closer. I'm not the only one that done that either

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926317#Comment_121926317

It is minutes of drive time to UHL though. UHL needs the staff that would be taken to reopen Ennis

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925846#Comment_121925846

You can't have adequate hospital facilities in small communities. If doctors are not seeing enough patients, they lose effectiveness, and more people die as a result. Regionalising hospital facilities improves health outcomes.

lisasimpson

The thing is Limerick isn't adequate or hasn't been for a long time. If it was Limerick people wouldn't be bypassing ULH and driving down to clonmel instead

Furze99

Josepha jumps ship now I hear. Who's next? What a shambles!

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0322/1439426-josepha-madigan/

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925655#Comment_121925655

It is patently obvious to see some party hicks touting the idea of how awful independents would be for the country.

As if the main parties now in power are actually good for the country.

Oh and when the same posters aren't warning us about the dread of independents, they are reminding us how awful it would be to vote for SF.

Then conveniently they point to the only supposed logical course is to vote for the incumbents.

I will not vote for anyone bar an independent, Farmers Alliance, Aontu, Independent Ireland.

No transfers nothing for them.

Wheels starting to fall off the wagon now.......

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926037#Comment_121926037

Services being better 50 miles away or 2 hours away is fook all use when you can't quickly get to them.

This issue was highlighted when they mooted this idea of centres of excellence when it came to trauma and A&E.

There needs to be more helicopters and more ambulances/paramedics spread around the country.

AFAIK even the two helicopters, not sure if we still have one with the charity one down in Cork, only has paramedic on board unlike UK where you have a trained highly skilled trauma/emergency doctor on board.

Also as far as I know they only operate daylight hours.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926641#Comment_121926641

Ahh don't worry Maria Bailey will be giving her more work.

Often wonder how someone from Dublin got the minister for the Gaeltacht gig.

Must have been her meeting old Leo at the dancing.😉

dasdog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926641#Comment_121926641

Self-serving interests always come first especially with ambulance chasers. Ask not what you can do for your country career.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121926641#Comment_121926641

It's getting a bit suss now.

All the hallmarks of a protest resignation, her and Leo are quite close apparently.