ROSCOMMON COUNCIL:PRESSURE IS continuing to mount within Fine Gael's local party organisation over Roscommon County Hospital following yesterday's defection by two councillors from the party whip.
Mid-Roscommon councillors Dominic Connolly and Laurence Fallon remain members of Fine Gael, but have resigned from the party whip in protest over yesterday’s closure of the hospital’s emergency department.
The party’s Roscommon-South Leitrim public relations officer Michael Frain, who is a member of the Fine Gael Ballaghaderreen cumann, has resigned completely from the party.
Mr Frain said last night that other Fine Gael members in the constituency were “seriously considering their position”.
“We went out and canvassed in good faith before the general election and Dr James Reilly’s written promise on retaining and developing services at Roscommon was printed in all the local newspapers,”he said.
Mr Frain, a part-time firefighter, said he knew how important the emergency department at the hospital was.
“I’ve been in Fine Gael for over 20 years and the party I joined was a party of integrity,” he added.
Laurence Fallon, one of the two mid-Roscommon local authority members who has resigned from the party whip, said he and Mr Connolly had consulted members and supporters over the weekend.
The Roscommon County Council agm to elect a new mayor is due to vote on a Fine Gael nominee for the post next Monday. It was deferred last month over the hospital issue.
“I’ve been involved with Fine Gael for 31 years and I am extremely disappointed in Enda Kenny for giving the commitments he did and not honouring them,” Mr Fallon said.
“Roscommon hospital’s budget has been cut dramatically from €26 million to €18 million, it had been starved of funds, and the Health, Information and Quality Authority is then brought in to close buildings down.
“There are other ways of meeting minimum standards without closing buildings,” Mr Fallon added, “and it is misleading of the Health Service Executive to say that we have an urgent care centre now – we have a minor injuries unit.”
Fine Gael’s party whip on Roscommon County Council Michael McGreal said he would not be resigning from the party, but he would be working to have the closure decision reviewed.
“I would also like the Minister for Health to fulfil his promise for other types of treatment at Roscommon,” Mr McGreal said.
Roscommon Hospital Action Committee chairman John McDermott said his group believed there could be further fall-out within Fine Gael.
However there was “no great surprise” over a commitment given on the hospital’s future by Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore on Shannonside radio on September 15th, 2010.
“Labour will never get a seat here, but at least the party did not make the commitment part of its actual election literature – which its partner in government did,” Mr McDermott said.
He said his group had provided Senator John Crown (Ind) with statistics relating to coronary care treatment at Roscommon for independent assessment by a cardiologist.
“Minister for Health Dr Reilly made claims about coronary care at Roscommon versus Galway in the Dáil which we do not believe to be accurate and which we want to verify,” Mr McDermott said.