Roscommon Hospital: A fight for equality

The most isolated and vulnerable are at the coalface of the battle once again. This time it is a fight to be treated as equal citizens. While the elite of the state have signed its citizens into exploitation at hands of the EU and IMF, they are simultaneously pushing those on the verge of society closer and closer to the brink. This time the fight is for the retention of services in Roscommon hospital.

A constant stream for some of the media and organisations such as IBEC tell us that we must “get to grips with reality”. They attempt to convey to us that we are living in some form of 'social welfare bubble' and we can't understand the harsh realities of the modern, capitalist economy. The dramatic irony of such allusions would be comical if the situation were not so serious. The facts is that those at the top, those in elite positions, cannot understand what happens to ordinary people when you take away their most basic rights.

The people of Roscommon and the surrounding areas are at a disadvantage. While they are equal citizens, pay equal taxes, have an equal vote, they are not treated equally. Due to partition they are separated from their natural economic heartland, and therefore the area those not produce the wealth that the elite believe is needed for them to be equals. This is the harsh reality of modern Ireland, this is the harsh reality of modern capitalism.

All along the western seaboard there are people living at a disadvantage. Ireland's wealth seems to be contained to certain pockets and those outside must suffer the consequences. This is not just a rural phenomenon. Those living in poorer urban areas can also be disregarded by those making the decisions. For example health services in the northside of Cork city have been threatened. What is so incredulous about these decisions is that they are made with such ease and the life and death consequences can be so severe.

Yesterday well over a thousand people stood outside Leinster House with a simple request. They were not demanding a 'center of exclence', they were not demanding to be given treatment, they were simply asking to be treated as equal citizens. The people of Roscommon and surrounding areas asked that their A&E department should not close. Sinn Féin TD, Michael Colreavy, addressed the Minister for Health yesterday evening and told the Dáil that those standing outside Leinster House “are the eyes and ears of their community and they have come here to see how Sinn Féin debate to safgeguard our health services.”

This is a battle likely to continue up and down the country. It is vital that Ógra Shinn Féin stand beside their community and the most vulnerable in society. This is not just a battle for the retention of A&E services, it is a battle for what a future Ireland will be like.