Finian’s Rainbow? Where’s his crock of gold now?

Update: Finian has been found! On Morning Ireland of all places - god forbid he would put himself at the mercy of Liveline listeners! The promise for the unit for CF patients is contained in Section 5 of the deal document. A new unit is 2/3 years away until completion. Finian is seeking a short term solution - beds in private hospitals - he’s been given a tour of the Beacon clinic and it fits the bill seemingly. That would be closer to Boston than Berlin for Finian then?

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For three days Liveline has had young people with Cystic Fibrosis coughing and wheezing down the radio (and I say that with the upmost respect.) They have also been the most eloquent spokespeople about the conditions they face being a CF patient in Ireland. The life expectancy for those with CF in Northern Ireland and the UK is 15 years longer than in the Republic. Cross infection and the lack of beds exposes people with Cystic Fibrosis in Ireland to a huge amount of risks and last year saw 30 lives lost to the disease. What’s needed urgently according to those affected and their families are dedicated facilities for people with CF so that they can receive treatment and avoid cross infection.

Having listened to all the coverage I wondered where the supposed white knight for Cystic Fibrosis in Ireland, Finian McGrath TD., was and went to his website to see if there were any statements. But it seems Finian has no news. Nothing at all since before the General Election. Was this lack of news making ability part of the agreement with Bertie for his vote? That’s a bit strange since Finian claimed to have done a deal on it. (I realise that others have been debating the finer points of deal making, I’m down in the gutter looking at the effects or none of the deals!)

From June 28th 2007 - Deputy McGrath entered details of his deal with Bertie Ahern into the Dáil record.

…An agreement has been made on a number of important local priorities. I will be accountable and I will inform the constituents and the Dáil as these are rolled out. These will include the following: increased funding for the Stardust inquiry of €400,000-€100,000 has already been delivered; funding for Kilmore West community centre, Coolock, which supports elderly and youth services; the retention of Greendale community school for educational use and to ensure that no part of it is sold; extra funding for services for children and adults with a disability living on the north side; funding for the Central Remedial Clinic in Clontarf; €1.7 million for the upgrade of the Tolka river flood programme; assistance for the residents of Richmond Road; capital moneys must be allocated to the orthopaedic hospital in Clontarf to upgrade its facilities; support and funding for a new PE hall at Rosmini School in Drumcondra; extra funding for services at St. Michael’s House; improved facilities for the visually impaired; and extra community gardaí on the beat in Dublin North-Central. Those are just some of the local priorities, and I will announce more later.

The Taoiseach and I share a vision of an Ireland where people with disabilities have the greatest possible opportunity to live full lives with their families and as part of their local communities without discrimination. I am strongly pushing for implementation of the national disability strategy, which would cost €900 million over the next three years, that is €300 million per year. In real terms, that means more residential places, respite places, speech therapists and services on the ground for everyone with a disability.

I look forward to seeing extra teachers reducing class sizes, improvements in special education, more support for children with autism and the tackling of educational disadvantage, and more services for citizens. People will be informed as they are rolled out.

….We have also dealt with health matters, and over the next five years, I look forward to extra hospital beds, including long-stay beds, and primary care teams, better services for cystic fibrosis patients, and improved cancer services. I stress that we need action on cystic fibrosis and cancer services as quickly as possible.