Cllr. Pearse Doherty speaking on motion 141
A chairde, anyone looking at County Donegal and the northwest in general,
can clearly see the outworking of the failed government policies that have
been at there core partitionist based, these failed policies have ignored
the logic and benefits of all Ireland development in areas such as health,
transport and education.
The result of this has left counties
such as Donegal with an 18% unemployment rate which is over 4 times the
national average, a county that has more patients on hospital trolleys that
any other county outside of Dublin, these policies have left the people of
Donegal 90% more at risk of living in poverty that any other part of this
state, and have left 72,896 people in Donegal dependant on primary welfare
payments. Unfortunately a chairde, similar statistics are all two familiar
in other bordering counties, which have ensured that the North West is the
most economically disadvantaged area in the country.
Partition
has failed. Two health systems, two education departments, two transport
departments and all the duplication of all the other services on this island
just doesn't make sense. The delivery of services on an all Ireland basis
clearly creates the opportunity for significant savings in removing the
unnecessary cost of administering two different regions.
We know
in Sinn Féin that it is only through a United Ireland that can guarantee
that all of these issues are effectively addressed. But by promoting,
developing and investing in all Ireland approaches we can bring immediate
benefit to the people of this island while at the same time eradicating the
political basis of partition.
I challenge this government to
ensure the positive redistribution of resources to eradicate poverty and
social exclusion by investing on an all-Ireland basis in Health, Education
and infrastructure.
It is unacceptable that the North West region
has no access to adequate cancer care service. It is unacceptable that the
North West is the only region in this island that will not have a motorway
connecting it to Dublin. It is unacceptable that it is the Ulster counties
of Donegal Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan and Monaghan that are the only counties
in the country without a rail service.
This Government has time
and time again shown no commitment to tackling the problems of this region
and their recent transport 21 plan is further proof of that.
A
Chairde, we have had enough of lip service from government ministers, enough
rhetoric and enough promises, enough task forces and enough feasibility
studies. It is time for action, It is time for investment, It is time to
deliver on the all Ireland agenda.