Minister Reilly Please Resign.

In Blog, Politicsby Fedayn3 Comments

Dr. Reilly

Dr. Reilly (illustration Paddy Lynch)

On the day the he announced a redress scheme, Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SoS) have called for the immediate resignation of the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly.

There’s background on SoS via theJournal.ie and updates from Reilly’s press conference this morning via the SOS_Ireland Twitter account.

The following Press Release has been issued by Survivors of Symphysiotomy:

SoS Chairperson Marie O’Connor said that the group, which represents 99 per cent of survivors in Ireland, had been ‘deliberately kept in the dark’ by a Minister who was determined to ‘ambush survivors as part of a strategy to disempower’.

‘Dr Reilly went on a solo run this morning, bringing proposals with him to Cabinet that SoS was given no prior notice of, whose status even his own officials, at the eleventh hour, were unable to confirm. We were 75 minutes’ notice of a 2 o’clock meeting in government buildings. This makes a mockery of consultation, and shows a determination on the Minister’s part to ambush survivors. We are calling for his resignation.’

‘The reality is that the Minister has no interest whatsoever in the views of survivors of symphysiotomy. He has never listened to SoS. What he doesn’t understand is that this is about truth, not money. There has been no admission of wrongdoing by this Government. The official lie that symphysiotomy was acceptable practice still stands.’

‘Whatever scheme is being proposed will be considered by our National Executive and it then will be up to the members in general meeting to decide what policy to adopt. In any scheme of this nature, the devil, as always, is in the detail. Schemes have been getting steadily worse in recent years. We will not be railroaded into ‘redress’.

‘While we have no knowledge of what is being proposed, no ex gratia scheme can meet Ireland’s obligations under international human rights treaties, as SoS will testify at the UN Human Rights Committee hearing in Geneva on 14th of July.’ ‘The Department of Health invited us to a meeting at 2 o’clock, if there is to be a meeting, which they couldn’t confirm at 11.40 this morning. This is Alice-in-Wonderland government.’

You can follow the Survivors of Symphysiotomy on Facebook.

 

 

Comments

  1. Why do the last two ministers for health look they have been well fed on a steady diet of pork pies?…..not a good image

  2. Pingback: Ireland, Symphysiotomy and the UNHRC | Inherently Human

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