Dail passes 'close St Luke's Bill'

Green votes doom St Luke's

Despite a 150,000 petition collected by patients and their families and extensive lobbying including a facebook campaign, government TDs would not accept amendments from Labour and FG which would have protected St Luke's and retained it as a public cancer hospital.

Despite being on record as supporting the campaign to save St Luke's, John Gormley did not even appear at the Dail debate while constituency collegues Ruairi Quinn and Lucinda Creighton spoke up for St Luke's. Also absent was Chris Andrews FF.

Dail passes ‘close St Luke’s bill’

Yesterday, despite extensive lobbying of senators, the health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was passed by the Seanad. The Bill transfers St Luke’s Hospital in Rathgar to the HSE who will phase it out.

Officially, it won’t close until 2014 but Junior Minister Aine Brady said in her speech at second stage in the Seanad that ‘some staff are being transferred at the end of this year.'

In the Dail, the vote on Labour and FG amendments to save St Luke’s was lost by 4 votes. No Green TD attended the debate even though St Luke’s is in party leader, John Gormley’s constituency. All six green TDs appeared when the voting bells tolled to support Mary Harney.

It was the same story in the Seanad. No sign of the three green senators though there were there for the debate on the Social Welfare Bill which preceded the Luke’s debate. And when the voting bells rang, again they appeared.

The fact that a petition with 150,000 signatures was handed in supporting the saving of Luke’s did not impress government senators.

And even though a story broke on the morning of the Seanad debate about an appalling patient experience in a supposed centre of cancer excellence, government senators were not inclined to protect St Luke’s, an actual existing centre of excellence.

The only government senator to attend the debate was Senator Geraldine Feeney who is the FF Spokeperson on health.

After the vote, Luke’s campaigners were asked to leave the Dail, and one campaigner was threatened with the gardai. Their crime was to have shouted ‘Shame’ at Green TDs who happened to be in the Dail lobby at the same time.