Children’s hospital will be staffed and equipped despite FF scare tactics – Buttimer

Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, Jerry Buttimer, has said today (Tuesday) that funds will be available to equip and staff the new National Children’s Hospital, and Fianna Fáil’s attempts to create uncertainty around the issue is yet another example of their total lack of a coherent health policy.

“The Government intends to build a new national children’s hospital. The design phase for the hospital is underway and construction should begin in early 2016. The hospital will be fully equipped and staffed by the time it is scheduled to open in 2019.

“No Government department has a capital budget beyond 2017, a fact that Fianna Fáil is well aware of so it makes sense that money has not yet been assigned. Instead of creating uncertainty around the provision of a new, world-class National Children’s Hospital, Fianna Fáil should be supporting its development.

“The unfortunate fact is Fianna Fáil has been promising to publish their health policy for months but it has failed to materialise. The party’s total lack of policies now sees it resorting to the worst kind of populist opposition, based on scare tactics and uncertainty.