‘The people were fooled’ – Tipperary councillor slams TDs over Nenagh Hospital
A Tipperary county councillor has hit out at north Tipperary’s three TDs, who, he says, have been silent on plans to upgrade a hospital in the north of the county.
Independent Thurles councillor Jim Ryan said that before the last General Election in 2024, all candidates said they would do all they could to ensure that Nenagh Hospital would be upgraded in an effort to take pressure off the stricken University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
UHL is consistently one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the country, catering to patients from north Tipperary, Limerick and Clare.
Cllr Ryan said that since Labour’s Alan Kelly, Fianna Fáil’s Ryan O’Meara and Michael Lowry were elected to the Dáil, they have done nothing to convince the Government that Nenagh Hospital should be upgraded.
"Before the last General Election at a debate in Nenagh all candidates (including myself) were asked if they would support and ensure Nenagh Hospital would be upgraded to take the pressure off UHL in Limerick. All candidates gave a firm commitment that they would,” Cllr Ryan said.
"However, since the election, the three candidates who became TDs have done absolutely nothing to convince the Government to invest in Nenagh Hospital and reopen its emergency department.”
He accused the TDs of failing to honour their pre-election commitments.
"The people were fooled. Shame on Michael Lowry, Ryan O’Meara and Alan Kelly. Their silence since the election is deafening,” Cllr Ryan added.
Trolley numbers at UHL continue to rise, the independent councillor added, and said that patients and staff there are suffering because of Government inaction.
On Wednesday (February 11), 131 people were on trolleys in UHL’s emergency department or in wards around the hospital, despite the opening of a 96-bed unit which aims to tackle overcrowding in October.
“Meanwhile, trolley numbers at UHL in Limerick are at record levels, staff are under severe stress and horror stories are beginning to emerge from families at the way their loved ones are suffering while attending UHL in Limerick due to Government inaction,” Cllr Ryan said.
Calling on Nenagh Hospital to be upgraded and given back its emergency department, the Thurles councillor said that he didn’t believe the three north Tipperary TDs were capable of getting the job done.
"Perfectly good hospital in Nenagh that can be upgraded to help the people of north Tipperary to avoid UHL in Limerick but unfortunately we haven't the TDs in North Tipperary capable of getting this done,” Cllr Ryan said.
Deputies Alan Kelly, Ryan O’Meara and Michael Lowry were contacted for comment.