St Vincent's must be protected

Fears over the future of St Vincent's Care Centre in Athlone have shone the spotlight once again on Athlone's health infrastructure. At a time when hospitals such as Roscommon have been downgraded and others including Portiuncula are embroiled in controversy, it may seem churlish and inappropriate to once again lament the lack of health facilities in Athlone. As we all know too well, Loughloe House, the local long-stay elderly care unit, closed last Christmas, and there are now growing concerns over the future of St Vincent's. The revelation last week by Health Minister James Reilly that up to 40 such community care units may close did nothing to reassure the public. And it is understandable that staff, patients and their families and the general public of this region would be worried about the given the comments of HSE chief that units with bed numbers of less than 50 are not viable. Meanwhile, the light at the end of the tunnel, the long-promised primary care centre in Athlone was finally scrapped last year, when funding ran out. And there is, as yet, no concrete news on plans by the HSE to lease a facility back from a private company which it has agreed to sell the land to. The HSE has not revealed whether contracts to build the primary care centre have been finalised. All of this adds up to a very uncertain future for healthcare in Athlone, although we must acknowledge the investment in the Clonbrusk Resource Centre, the development of the South Westmeath Hospice and the extension of the Midoc out-of-hours GP service to Moate and Glasson recently. But a town such as Athlone requires a public long-stay care facility and the Government and HSE needs to commit itself to the necessary funding to retain the facility. Budget must be balanced The Fine Gael/Labour Government was elected on the back of popular mandate to implement a new style of politics; politics which prioritised the need of the people, ahead of the greed of the bondholders; politics which was the antithesis of the who-you-know modus operandi which had dominated Irish society for decades. And whilst the Government has been strangled by the ineptitude of its predecessors, and imprisoned by the troika, its first budget next week will be a real litmus test of its credentials, its abilities and most of all its honesty. The decision to deliver the budget over two days has had the wags claiming that the budget is so bad, they are announcing it twice. And there is no doubt but that the perilous financial situation of the country, combined with the utter market chaos and political stagnation of the eurozone, has left Kenny, Gilmore, Noonan, Howlin and Co with little options. However, there is a real need to ensure the cuts are balanced, equitable and fair. The wealthy in this society need to pay their share - and there must not be a loading of the burden on either the marginalised and vulnerable or the increasingly hard-pressed middle classes. The Government will need the wisdom of Solomon to get this budget through without significant protest - and to bring the country out of recession. But it dare not thwart its own efforts by being seen, once again, to favour the elite.