Senior Citizens

The senior citizens of Tipperary and Ireland built this great country we have today and deserve our respect and support in every way possible. You have all worked hard over your life, raised families and contributed to your parishes, towns and county in ways that have often gone unrecognised. Like me, you have seen good times and bad times but always got on with the job at hand. It is not too much to expect that your lifetime of tax contributions to the State should allow you first class access to medical care, nursing home provision and protection for your hard earned pensions. I am addressing these key issues on your behalf:

• Nursing Home Provision: I am in support of the new innovative healthcare fund, which aims to provide state of the art residential care across the country so that our senior citizens, parents and family be looked after as they so deserve. This will involve the redevelopment of existing nursing homes and development of new nursing homes which will provide first class care to the elderly. I will be pushing that the provision of nursing homes in Tipperary be a priority. In particular, it is essential to retain and enhance the Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Unit in Roscrea.
• Pension Protection: I am petitioning the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to ensure that adequate safeguard measures are enforced to protect the hard earned pensions of the people who built this country. State pensions must also be in line with the rate of inflation so that the pension allowance allows a sustainable living.
• Hospitals: The lack of hospital beds especially in emergency units are at an epidemic level where patients are sustaining long waiting times to secure a bed, often for serious medical attention. I have campaigned all my life for an adequate health service which facilitates the demands of a modern society and will continue to do so. I am working diligently with local authorities and on a national level petitioning the government and Department of Health to provide adequate resources to alleviate the bed waiting list. I’ve been instrumental in attaining government investment for South Tipperary General Hospital, UL Nenagh Hospital and the Community Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles.