The Irish People deserve a better health service:

Our health service is a mess. Everybody knows that. But this government doesn't care - because they know that the rich can afford to jump the queues and to get treatment ahead of ordinary people. And this is a government of the rich for the rich.

Medical Cards: The government's discredited Health Strategy promised to raise the income thresholds for entitlements to medical cards. What have they done? Sweet damn all. Now a family living on €120 a week isn't entitled to a medical card. So if a child is sick, they have to pay €40 to see the doctor. That leaves €80 to feed the family and pay the bills for a week. So the family does without proper food or heating which results in more health problems.

This is happening in Ireland today.

Dr. Jane Wilde, Director of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland said this at a recent conference: "This conference turns a welcome spotlight on the link between poverty and health. Poverty and inequality threaten our health and social and economic development. Research from the Institute of Public Health shows almost 6,000 premature deaths each year are due to poverty and inequality. Inequality and poverty are unnecessary. They can be addressed through concentrated social and political action."

Vote for your ISN candidate to put this right .

Taxpayers Pay For Special Treatment for Private Patients:

Here's another example of how this corrupt government spends our money on the health service. Hospital consultants have public and private practices. When they see and treat public patients in hospitals, they use the hospital facilities and equipment which is paid for with taxpayers' money. When they see their private patients they also use the hospital facilities and equipment - free of charge. In effect, the government is subsidising the consultants and the private patients with public money. The ISN believes that this disgusting subsidy should stop now. And the money saved should be spent on providing more and better services in local health centres.

The ISN will campaign for more and better services to be provided in our local health centres in Ballygall Road and Wellmount and Ballymun. We support the work of the doctors and nurses and dentists and all the staff in these health centres. We want better facilities in the health centres and funding for more staff and services so that people's health needs are addressed locally where they should be.

The ISN will campaign for the income threshold for medical cards to be raised to realistic levels so that families on low incomes can afford to attend their local doctors.

The ISN will campaign for a single health system for all in this country and an end to the current disgusting system in which those who can afford it get treatment ahead of those who can't. We demand equal treatment for all citizens, children, women and men, young and old rich and poor..