HSE forum members should resign!

“Resign, it’s a waste of time!” is Westport councillor Keith Martin call to the 40 councillors who sit on the HSE Regional West forum.

The Labour Party councillor says the councillors are wasting their time debating motions, passing resolutions and calling for action when the HSE executive are not obliged to carry out any instructions from the 40 members of the forum.

“It is a farcical situation whereby councillors are travelling to meetings from places as far apart as Limerick, Galway, Clare, Mayo, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, North Tipperary and North Cavan to discus health issues only to be ignored by HSE staff. Its like a bad comedy and its time for the 40 councillors to cry halt to the farce and not attend these meetings until the Government returns to them the powers councillors used to exercise under the old Western Health Board.

“According to the HSE, ‘the objective of the Executive is to use the resources available to it in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.’ How this can be done by ignoring the public representatives, who know the needs of their constituents better than anyone, is beyond me.

“There are people lying on trolleys in corridors yet the HSE is not answerable to the councillors on its forums even on that issue. What purpose do these talking shops provide? Are they just forums for debate or to allow councillors let of steam at HSE officials?

Cllr Martin says he is “calling on the 40 councillors who represent the people of the west of Ireland on this farcical forum not attend the meetings until their powers are returned to them. My message to the councillors is, resign your positions en masse; it’s a waste of time going to meetings that have no powers to change anything about HSE local policy or procedure. Enough of the talking, its time for action.”