TD Healy-Rae Claims ‘No Power’ to Protect Public Service

kerry | worker & community struggles and protests | press release

Monday February 22, 2010 11:58

by Brendan Guilfoyle - KPSWA

Deputy Jackie Healy Rae has told public service workers that he is powerless to prevent further cuts to services in Kerry. Healy Rae made the comments to 65 members of the Kerry Public Service Workers’ Alliance (KPSWA) who protested at his constituency clinic in Killarney on Saturday.

Jackie Healy Rae meets the KPSWA

Deputy Jackie Healy Rae has told public service workers that he is powerless to prevent further cuts to services in Kerry. Healy Rae made the comments to 65 members of the Kerry Public Service Workers’ Alliance (KPSWA) who protested at his constituency clinic in Killarney on Saturday (see audio files below).

“I haven’t the power to stop it, I’ve no power, I’ve one single vote”, stated Healy Rae in response to an angry group of workers who questioned him at length about pay cuts, the staff embargo, unemployment for nurses and cuts in the local health service.

“My view is that you should talk to the Greens that are making the big changes. We were in a different position a few years ago when there was six or seven independents controlled the government. There is only myself there now and to a lesser degree Michael Lowry who is not able to attend for various reasons and it is only myself that’s there with the odd day that Michael Lowry will come up” stated Healy Rae.

Martin O’Grady (KPSWA spokesperson) commented that “In 2009, Councillor Michael Healy Rae claimed that his father was so powerful that he was visited by the Taoiseach’s right hand man and given government guarantees about acute health services. Jackie Healy Rae now claims that his power has disappeared but he voted as an independent to cut over €25 million per annum from wages in Kerry. He exercised his vote to cut the pay of nurses, council workers, gardai, fire service, ambulance staff, teachers and other civil servants in every parish throughout the county. Healy Rae has abandoned the Kerry workers but willingly backs the Dublin bankers by voting for over €50 billion from the pockets of the threadbare taxpayer. Healy Rae will not exercise his independent voice as he has been captured by Fianna Fail. He will suffer the ire of public service workers at the next election”.

The Kerry Public Service Workers’ Alliance (KPSWA) has brought together representatives of health, educational, civil, garda and administrative workers. The objective of the KPSWA is to stop and reverse the public pay cuts and the destruction of community services.

The KPSWA has written an open letter to Healy Rae and the other Kerry government TDs and the pickets on constituency clinics are the first in a series of actions that will target them. The KPSWA recently also picketed over two consecutive weekends at the Tralee and Listowel clinics of North Kerry Fianna Fail Deputy Tom McEllistrim.