Phoenix: Public Notice?
Pictured at the official opening of the Solace Café in Waterford were (from left), Minister of State at Dept. of Housing, Local Government and Heritage John Cummins TD, Minister for Mental Health and Government Chief Whip, Mary Butler TD and Deputy Mayor of Waterford City and County Cllr. Lola O’ Sullivan. Photo: Noel Browne
This notice was not really issued by government, but the details, as far as can be ascertained, are correct. Why is that? It’s not as if, like Dublin, almost everything we need is already in place and we are at the gild the lily stage. There is no response from government. Silence is the word! For heaven’s sake, we need leadership from our government reps, not disappointment and a belief that Waterford projects are being pushed aside or ignored. Surely they don’t want that themselves? The question has been raised time and again without reply from our government reps.
If Ministers Butler or Cummins wish to demonstrate that our mock advertisement is incorrect in any way, our editor can assure them that they can have a free page in this paper to set out their position on: New Pharmaceutical Building at SETU, New Veterinary Building at SETU, New Health 1 building at SETU, New multi-storey car park at UHW, New OPD at UHW, New Adult Mental Health Unit at UHW, New Ward Block at UHW, New ambulance base at Ballybeg, New Children’s Hub at St Otteran’s Campus, New ICPOP hub at St Otteran’s, New wharf space at Waterford port, New investment at Waterford Airport, New Foreign Direct Investment at IDA Waterford, New investment in N24 and N25….the list is endless.
But sure, when the IDA got a record 323 new investments in Ireland in 2025 and only one came to Waterford, or by mid-year 2026, “IDA Ireland had secured 190 investments with a commitment to create 10,410 jobs across the economy” (none in Waterford), you wonder what we have four TDs for at all? 513 IDA projects in 18 months and only one in Waterford. Scandalous!
People are losing faith in the political process. State investment is the life-blood of urban development and the seed capital for private investors. We have seen this over the past generation in Galway where that city’s development is a national priority, protected by state investment. There is no metric you can mention where the Irish state has not driven the development of Galway. Can you honestly say the same holds true for Waterford city?
Our Sinn Féin TDs are so concerned about what’s going on, that they too are silent. Pushed into reaction occasionally, as with the diversion of cruise ships from Dunmore, but appearing to the local hoi polloi as being more interested in Belfast than Ballybeg or Derry than Dungarvan. The mirage of supposedly immediate, national reunification mesmerizes them.
Are the economic interests of their local voter base really served by this? 20,000 local votes and two TDs for Sinn Féin by locals, in the unfulfilled hope of meaningful pressure and a 100% pursuit of government over blatant inequity and unfairness towards Waterford? It’s incredible, but sure it’s nearly the Dáil holidays, the kids are out of school. Is anyone bothered about this stuff anyway? Who gives a shite about Waterford? Sure aren’t they always moaning about something down there…moaning being the only tool left to us in the face of persistent, systemic, institutional and political neglect.
It now seems that Waterford has been written out of the current National Plan (“largest ever investment in the State’s history, €275.4 billion between 2026 and 2035”) for electing two Sinn Féin TDs. That’s the rationale for government non–performance offered to this column. The “punishment” of Waterford brought to you by Cork Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his merry men (Ali Baba and his cabinet thieves?) continues, aided and abetted by Fine Gael and Tánaiste Simon Harris. The unspoken narrative is that Waterford must be taught a severe political lesson by the mainstream government parties, for our electoral deviation from the centre.
Teach Waterford an obvious public lesson and government can be sure that electoral contamination will not spread. The lesson, gross curtailing of state investment, has well and truly begun. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who failed to offer any alternative or extra electoral candidate choice, having listened to and accepted the pleadings of the two front-runners for a clear run, believe the Cummins and Butler seats are safe pro tem.
Back on the ranch, the capacity of Waterford City and County Council to deliver on the local agenda is up for question. Anyone who takes the summer tour around the county can see that Dunmore East is being managed, Tramore is being beautifully maintained, Dungarvan is turning into Waterford’s Clonakilty and looks very well, but the city is like the curate’s egg, good in parts. Is there any individual actually responsible for presentation of the city?
Some great work is being done, but there are some really obvious lacunae. Money is being obviously spent on traffic calming across the city, but questions about really important issues, like Michael Street and attendant dereliction in New Street, Browne’s Lane and Stephen’s Street are fobbed off with promises in council of imminent progress. It is unclear, in the face of a 10-year wait for the council’s redevelopment of Parade Quay, what exactly “imminent” means. We are hurting ourselves.
And, it is my understanding that 24/7 interventional cardiology at UHW will commence on July 6, the day before this article appears. A victory for persistence and people power and a breakthrough development for our regional Model 4 hospital.
All those in public and political life who pushed for this vital life-saving service are to be congratulated. It is not without its caveats, not least UHW’s concern that 26 extra staff were sought to properly run the service to the level of other National PPCI centres, but only 10 were allocated.
There is a fear that any disruption in the service will be blamed on the staff and consultants involved despite the long acknowledged under-resourcing of UHW. It is the lowest-staffed (minus 1,000 staff on average) and lowest budget (minus approximately €100 million per annum) of all Model 4 hospitals. Wouldn’t it be nice if Minister Butler announced something positive for UHW on the day? We fight on.
