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15th July 2014 • Volume 21, Issue 26 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Little Molly McNally Volunteers held a charity bag pack for the Molly McNally Miracle Trust at Millfield Shopping Centre, Balbriggan on Saturday, 5th July last. Pictured are Cathy Murray, Aisling Brennan, Katie O'Connor, Aoife Nolan, Sarah Whelan, Emily Whelan, Yvonne Power, Leah Gannon, Tony O'Malley, Carmel Whelan, and Sam Power . See story on page 7
Determined Reilly Still In Cabinet Health Ministry Remains In Fingal Loss Of The Transport Portfolio May Sound Death Knell For Swords Light Rail System The upshot of the much anticipated cabinet reshuffle, may prove to be a bitter sweet one for the North County. The appointment of Leo Varadkar as the new Health Minister, replacing incumbent, Dr James Reilly, means that Fingal had managed to hold on to this very important Government portfolio. This will be regarded as a major plus for the region. The fact that we have managed to retain two cabinet places in the area, is of utmost importance. However, many locals will be fearful that, with Minister Varadkar’s departure from Transport and Tourism, the much needed light rail system promised for Swords, will now be doomed.
Continued on page 12
But Was His Removal From Health Really Necessary? Last Friday, 11th July was a traumatic day in the life of local TD, Minister James Reilly. It was the day that he was removed from the Health portfolio, in the much anticipated cabinet reshuffle. By Patrick Finnegan
This move had been widely anticipated for many months, during which time, the former Health Minister came under severe pressure, due in the main to what was perceived as a ham fisted effort to reverse the recent medical card fiasco. The writing on the wall was clear, and this was seen as one of the prime reasons that Reilly lost the health portfolio. He has been appointed as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, which many believe is a demotion for him. His appointment was welcomed by Fergus Finlay, CEO, Barnardos, who said, “We welcome a politician with James Reilly’s experience as Minister for Children and look forward to working with him on the key issues relating to children. We would also call for a period of stability in this position
now. It would be extremely disappointing if a ‘musical’ chairs approach to the appointment of this role, resulted in it being seen as a lesser Ministry. His replacement as Minister for Health is Leo Varadkar, himself a fully qualified doctor. He is also from Fingal, meaning that the region still retains it’s two cabinet positions, which can only benefit residents here. During his tenure as Minister for Health, Dr Reilly has had some victories as well. The most notable of these, from a local perspective, was securing a primary care centre for Balbriggan and Swords. This caused huge controversy across the country, and led to the resignation of his colleague, the Labour Party Junior Minister for Health, Roisin Shortall. The location of the facility, in the heart of Dr Reilly’s constituency, was met with controversy last year, when it was deemed that it was added to a priority list of towns, vying for the new centres at the last minute. Continued on page 12