DENISE MITCHELL TD DUBLIN BAY NORTH Leinster House Tel: 01 618 3457 Constituency Office Tel: 01 847 2902
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ÉIRE CHUN CINN – PUTTING IRELAND FIRST Email: denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie
Action needed on Beaumont waiting lists Despite 26,000 people on outpatient waiting lists at Beaumont Hospital, and with a record-breaking 670,000 on waiting lists nationally in May, the Government is continuing to sit on its hands on this issue. The Government needs to realise that tinkering around the edges of the Health Service will not work. We in Sinn Féin have proposed an integrated hospital waiting list management system which would help to significantly reduce waiting times. We also propose real investment in health – particularly when it comes to recruiting and retaining front-line workers. The failed-two tier health system also needs to go because healthcare should not be about how much somebody has in their pocket. If the political will is there, a new Universal Health Care system can be realised.
Fighting for Pension Equality
HOUSING CRISIS IN DUBLIN The housing crisis in Dublin and across the state continues despite assurances from Government that they would get on top of this problem. In the short term we need to see real Rent Certainty for tenants. In the Dáil we have put forward numerous Bills and Motions on this issue which would link rents to the Consumer Price Index. Unfortunately, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael failed to support these measures. Ultimately, the only solution to the housing crisis is for the Government to abandon their reliance on the private sector and to significantly increase the number of social and affordable homes.
Sinn Féin TD Denise Mitchell and her colleague John Brady TD have been campaigning for an end to the mandatory retirement age for some workers. It is Sinn Féin’s belief that if a person wants to continue in their role beyond 65 then they should have the option to do so. Sinn Féin also want an end to the situation where a 65 year-old is forced onto jobseekers for a year before receiving their full pension entitlement. The Sinn Féin team have also been campaigning vigorously for pension equality for women, many of whom suffered disproportionately due to changes in the pension bands made in 2012.