Phoenix: Commitments and appraisals

Readers of this piece will be delighted to learn that we are committed to world peace, ending world famine and draining the River Shannon. The chances of achieving these goals without action by national governments is minuscule. 

So when you hear the word “commitment” or its cousin “appraisal” being bandied about by government about anything in Waterford, a large dose of cynicism is required.

Minister Mary Butler is committed to delivering a new 50-bed Adult Mental Health Unit at UHW. Sure why not. It’s easy to go on WLR and “announce” something even if it is light years away. 

With Fianna Fáil on 15% of the votes here, they must be hoping that a great collective amnesia will sweep over this constituency before the next poll. 

Ms Butler seems to believe she need provide no explanation or clarification when her announcements fail to materialise. 

When promised site huts being in position, recruitment for cardiology being imminent, Sunday opening of the Cath labs to start, construction work to start next month (what month might that be?) on a vital extension to the UHW pathology lab etc., fail to materialise, say nothing. A hub for children to be built at St Otteran’s is at appraisal (a worse word than commitment) stage on the HSE Capital Plan for 10 years. No problem.

2023 was the year in which zero funding was provided by the HSE for any capital building project at UHW. 

A grotesquely irresponsible failure in light of new evidence that stroke facilities (among other specialties) at UHW (1,000 patients per annum in a tiny two-bedroom unit) are completely deficient. 

Many UHW projects are at the appraisal stage. But never fear, Ms Butler told Damien Tiernan on June 7, 2023, that she has “huge input into the HSE Capital Plan” and is “constantly working on that plan all year round” and that the new Mental Health Unit (no planning, no tender) would commence in 2024. 

Has anything started at UHW, have staff been recruited for seven-day cardiology? Her senior minister Stephen Donnelly is a Fianna Fáil colleague. He also came here on the puff train with promises. If he stopped Ms Butler working on the Capital Plan and let someone else at it, might we see some construction action at UHW? 

Three months ago on March 20, Ms Butler was again on with Damien Tiernan saying she had “broken her back” working on moving to seven-day week cardiology and that Stephen Donnelly had given her a letter providing for 19.5 staff at UHW for this service. In the meantime, nothing! Maybe Ms Butler is working too hard?

John Cummins and our Taoiseach, Mr Harris, are “committed” to a new engineering building at SETU. Didn’t we give ye a new courthouse, a new fire station, a new flood relief scheme? Why aren’t ye happy? 

Fine Gael is so committed that the engineering building has been on the go since 2009, with a €2.9 million site sitting idle on the Cork Road for 15 years. But hey, who cares about third level education in this region anyway? Is the object of the exercise political satisfaction for Fine Gael in Carlow/ Kilkenny/ Wexford, not regional academic excellence? 

Mr Cummins is pursuing the matter and told Damien Tiernan on WLR on April 9 last that the matter was a “priority” with government and he had been in contact with Paschal Donohoe about the project. Dr Ray Griffin of SETU was interviewed afterwards. In his opinion, Simon Harris as Minister for Further Education had given SETU Waterford nothing (except the glass site), the treatment of WIT/ SETU, which was always a university, had been “horrible to watch”!

WIT/SETU has planning permission for the proposed new Engineering Building since 2019. That permission expires on December 17, 2024. This (Irish Legal Blog) suggests that permission may be extended under certain conditions. 

One extension only is allowed, it must be applied for in the last year of existing permission, the planning authority must be satisfied that the development commenced before the expiry date, that substantial works are completed and that the development would be completed within a short period of time. 

None of those conditions have been fulfilled, so it’s now or never. 

Mr Harris told WLR on March 22, 2024, that “Waterford had been let down over the engineering building project”. Work was to commence in early 2022 and be open in 2025. 

“I am not going to hide,” says Harris, “It is long overdue for the people of Waterford.” Any stir out on the Cork Road three months later, of this 15-year-old “priority” project? Still at appraisal stage perhaps?

Marc Ó Cathasaigh and local Greens were “committed” to Waterford Airport. We see how that is panning out. The local Greens have been decimated and Eamon Ryan is on the bike home having appraised our little airport for months. 

National political leadership believe we are thick down here and vote for people like sheeple. That’s why we currently have no Fine Gael TD. We got sick of the hind teat. If Mr Ó Cathasaigh loses his seat in the next general election, for so it looks, he might remember that all politics are local.

At the next general election seats will be lost and others not achieved. 

Those in the present government group who fail to be elected will quickly highlight negative anti-government comment here and elsewhere. Blame will be spread everywhere except on the political parties who have spent billions over the past five years while investing very little in the physical expansion of SETU or UHW. 

The resulting visible, palpable damage to this city has been enormous. This is where the blame lies, in the chronic willingness of our government representatives to accept non-delivery, while idolising Micheál Martin or Simon Harris and prostrating themselves before the great party edifice. 

Powerful ministers in the present government have looted the state's capital budget for their own political ends. There is no apolitical delivery. 

Those who believe that the development of our North Quays is an adequate return for five years in government reinforce the notion that Waterford, as a regional city, is not entitled to the same level of investment as its peers. That cannot be right.