Danny Healy-Rae Demands Action on Kerry Health After Re-Election
Danny Healy-Rae thanked Seancola and his supporters after being re-elected and used his speech to call for urgent action on Kerry's health, mental health and disability services. He said the incoming government must listen to constituents and address trolley waits, lack of mental health provision and pensioner concerns.
Acknowledgement of re-election and supporters
He thanked Seancola for carrying out duties fairly and praised the people of Kerry, especially the dozens of canvassers who he said helped secure his return. He described being written off by local media during the campaign and said he remained determined and grateful to represent his constituents in this chamber.
Criticism of Kerry health service
He said the health service in Kerry "is in the shambles," citing patients left on chairs for 48 hours and pleas for at least being put on a trolley. He argued this treatment of sick and elderly people is unacceptable and insisted the new government must address hospital capacity and trolley crises.
Mental health and disability concerns
He warned that suicide is "ravaging our county" and said there is effectively no mental health service in Kerry. He also highlighted the plight of families of people with disabilities, noting elderly parents fear who will care for their disabled son or daughter when they pass away.
Pensioners and constituency results
He criticised asking pensioners who worked 40, 45 or 50 years to "go on the door for two or three years," calling it unfair and unjust. He thanked voters in East Kerry who delivered strong vote shares at local boxes and said he was honoured to return to represent them in parliament, at Dalian.
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Thank you very much, Seancola, and first of all, I want to congratulate you on attaining another term as Seancola, and to thank you for the excellent and fair way that you carried out your duties during the last Dahl. I first of all want to thank the people of Kerry, who voted for two Healy Rays, and especially for myself in Kerry, and indeed the people who canvass for me, the people who went out and worked for me. I don't call them a team, I call them an army, because on one specific evening, 162 people left a place in Kilane and hit off in all different directions to help me get re-elected. On one evening, many of the local papers, the media, and others had me written off, they had me dead and buried, and the story was in the local paper that Fianna Fáil were smelling my blood. Well, I can tell you, I have all my blood yet, and they'll have to wait a while before they'll get any cinch, but they were on the wrong trail, and they were on the wrong cinch, and I'm glad to be standing here in front of me, inside this chamber, elected by the people of Kerry again today, and I want to thank each and every person who did anything and everything for me, and ensured that I got re-elected. We, whoever is going to be over there, Taoiseach, I don't know if it's going to be you, or whoever it is, or whoever will be the new government, they will have to listen to the needs of the people that we're representing. Our health service in Kerry is in the shambles. Trolleys, people on chairs now, not on trolleys anymore, all the cry now is, I'm in a chair for 48 hours, can you get me, at least get me on a trolley? That's not good enough, and that's not the way to be dealing with our sick people, because people do get sick, and people do get old, and they need to be treated fairly and squarely, and they haven't been done. Mental health, suicide is ravaging our county, and I noticed doing so in other counties. We have no mental health service at all happening, Kerry. There isn't one mental health thing. People with disabilities, it's a shame and disgrace that elderly parents, their biggest worry is, where will, what will happen, their disabled, son or daughter, they're now 78 and 80 years of age, where will my journey, where will my party go when I pass on? And to say, a new thing has come out during the election campaign. Pensioners, who have worked for 40, 45 and 50 years of their age, of their lives, serving this country well, they can't be asked to go on the door for two or three years, because that's absolutely ridiculous, it's unfair, and it's not right or just, and we won't stand for that, whoever the government is just going to be. Again, I just want to thank, especially the people when they see my back was to the wall, in many of the boxes in East Kerry. I want to thank them for giving me 60 to 90% of the votes that came out of the boxes. I don't believe it happened in any other part of the country for any other candidate. I want to thank those people who did that for me, and ensure that I returned here to represent them, people here in this parliament, at Dalian, and I'm very thankful and grateful to them. Thank you very much, Deputy Hilly Ray. Thank you.
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