The plan to build a new national children’s hospital at the Mater Hospital site was always problematic. I now call on the Minister for health and the HSE to invest in our existing children’s’ hospitals. The Children’s Hospital in Crumlin wants to build a new cardiac critical care facility and to upgrade their cancer treatment facilities. They need to replace old and cramped wards.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine has this week expressed alarm at what they say is a 700% increase in children waiting on hospital beds. They also point out that children ‘not infrequently’ spent over 12 hours on trolleys in paediatric emergency departments (PEDs).

They say there has been an eightfold increase in the number of children who receive complete episode of care in PEDs, as opposed to 2008.

These are issues which need to be dealt with urgently by the Minister and the HSE.

www.joan-collins.org

This is a mean and cruel budget. Once again, it is those on low to middle incomes, and the poor who will take the biggest hit, people who bear no responsibility for the economic crisis caused by the greed of a wealthy elite. Writes Joan Collins TD, People Before Profit/United Left Alliance

Estate agents Lowe & Associates have withdrawn from sale today the repossessed home of Robert Marsh at 130 Comeragh Rd, Drimnagh. The house was withdrawn on instruction from Start Mortgages, the sub-prime lender that repossessed it.
Commenting on today’s events, Joan Collins TD said:

This is a victory for Robert Marsh and anybody else who has had their home repossessed. We publicly called upon Investec, which owns Start Mortgages, and on Lowe’s estate agents to stop the sale of Robert’s home. After several protests at their offices, the sale has been withdrawn.
We will now monitor all of the estate agents to ensure Robert’s home is not put up for sale elsewhere. We are calling for all repossession sales to be stopped as part of a general resolution to the unfolding mortgage crisis. We urge anybody with mortgage difficulties to come to the meeting next Sunday in the Red Cow hotel from 1 til 4 to get advice, to discuss ideas to deal with the mortgage crisis, and to campaign to stop repossessions.
If people in difficulty work together we can stop repossessions. Lenders are less likely to repossess if they can’t sell your home. So ‘Buyer be wary – seller beware’ is the message we are sending out today.

Enquiries and comment: Joan Collins TD: 6183215 or 086 388 8151

ABOUT 30 people staged a protest outside a house for sale in Drimnagh in Dublin last night, covering the “For Sale” sign with another reading “Repossessed house – Buyer Beware – No Evictions”.

ON THE CANVASS: WITHIN A minute of Joan Collins beginning her canvass, she meets a man with a square, grey-speckled beard and glasses who is leaning against his car, writes HARRY McGEE (Irish Times 17/02/11)

Over 150 attended the Cllr Joan Collins United Left Alliance Launch in Crumlin on the 9th February.

Cllr Joan Collins (Candidate), Cllr Brid Smith & Joe Hiiggins MEP

Supporters at the meeting

Cllr Joan Collins addresses the meeting