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Tag Archives: Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

Wynne slams ‘delaying tactics’ on access to blocks redress scheme

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has hit out at what she described as “the ongoing inaction by the government” in response to Clare homeowners affected by pyrite and mica. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne described the recent announcement that bringing Clare homeowners into the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme will require the advice of the Attorney General (AG) and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as “a delaying tactic”. “The recent statement by Minister [Darragh] O’Brien is more of the same,” the Kilrush resident said. “[It’s] a delaying tactic in what is inevitable and has been rigorously proven as such. There are at least 90 homes and two estates affected by pyrite defective blocks, but the real number may indeed be much higher. The government’s stall tactics add insult to injury.” Deputy Wynne also repeated concerns over the burden of stress placed on those affected by defective materials including pyrite and mica. “Based on my engagement with the Clare Pyrite Action …

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SF TD expecting sixth child raises maternity leave issues

More family-friendly policies needed to encourage women into politics, says Violet Anne Wynne CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has revealed that she is expecting her sixth child and is due to give birth in February. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne said the news came as a pleasant surprise to herself and her family, and underlined the need for more family-friendly policies to encourage other women to enter politics. In February 2020, the Psychology graduate was elected after securing just over 15% of first preference votes. The first SF TD elected in Clare since 1922, Deputy Wynne is the third female deputy to represent the constituency since the foundation of the State. The Offaly native will make electoral history again next spring and is determined to prove that motherhood and a busy public role are compatible. “We saw Minister Helen McEntee this year, the first Cabinet member to take maternity leave while in office,” Deputy Wynne noted. “Oireachtas members, in general, are excluded …

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Clare TD critical of online ‘optics’ around Merrion Hotel row

CLARE’S Fianna Fáil TD has hit out at the “optics” surrounding social media commentary on the botched plan to make Katharine Zappone a special envoy to the United Nations (UN). Deputy Cathal Crowe told The Champion he “wouldn’t know where to find the Merrion Hotel” where a controversial gathering was held by the former minister days before her planned appointment was revealed. Deputy Crowe was sharply critical, however, of some Opposition party’s calls on social media for the resignation of the Tánaiste, who apologised for “letting his guard down” by going to the outdoor event. Since the event, which generated a political storm and caused pandemic guidelines to be clarified by the Attorney General, efforts have been intensifying on social media to identify the attendees at the Merrion Hotel event. “I wasn’t invited,” Deputy Crowe said. “I wouldn’t have attended and I don’t mix in those circles. When I’m in Dublin, I work damn hard and then I get back …

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Anger as Clare patients set for longer ‘elective surgery’ waits

PUBLIC patients in Clare look set to face even longer waiting times following another series of elective cancellations, which has prompted stinging criticism from Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne, writes Dan Danaher. The number of patients on public in-patient waiting lists in the Mid-West has increased from 4,798 in January 2020 to 6,569 in May 2021. There has also been a worrying rise in the number of outpatients waiting to be treated, which is up from 47,134 in January 2020 to 50,363 in May 2021. In a hard-hitting statement issued to The Clare Champion, Deputy Wynne, claimed University Hospital Limerick (UHL)has been the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland every day this year. “It has had the highest overall number of patients waiting for care without beds in each consecutive year since 2017. Despite additional recruitment and over 100 extra beds, it still faces runaway overcrowding. “University Hospital Limerick has been accommodating the highest number of people on trolleys for many months in …

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Wynne voices frustration of Clare pyrite homeowners

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has sharply criticised the fact that Clare people, whose homes have defects proven to be linked to pyrite, must continue to pay Local Property Tax (LPT). Deputy Violet Anne Wynne, who last week raised the issue in the Dáil with the Tánaiste, said the lack of action for homeowners here is a source of huge frustration. The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is only open to Counties Mayo and Donegal and covers a maximum of 90% of remediation costs. Earlier this month, the government announced that those eligible for the scheme would get a six-year LPT waiver. Because Clare has not yet been included in the redress scheme, the LPT exemption does not apply here. Currently, at the request of the Department of Housing, Clare County Council is compiling a report on the scale of the pyrite issue here, with a view to making the case for the extension of the scheme. “Homeowners in Clare still …

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Wynne insists concerns over NMH ‘legitimate’

RELOCATING the proposed new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) cannot be ruled out in the interests of ensuring women’s healthcare is free of religious influence, a Clare TD has said. Plans to move the facility from Holles Street to a site beside St Vincent’s Hospital have been bogged down in controversy over governance and ownership. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne told The Champion that if a move to co-locate the new facility with Tallaght Hospital has to be considered, it should be. “The new hospital has been in the pipeline since the 1990s and it has been in the Programme for Government since 2013,” she outlined. “Maternal healthcare and women’s healthcare generally must be provided by the State, without interference or influence from outside the public realm.” Deputy Wynne’s comments came as thousands attended a rally outside Leinster House last Saturday afternoon over the ongoing ownership of the new site by Religious Sisters of Charity. The order previously said it intends to …

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Thousands of hospital appointments cancelled

Thousands of appointments fall foul of HSE cyber attack PUBLIC hospital appointments for thousands of Clare patients have been cancelled amid fears it may take weeks to fully resolve the serious disruption caused by the cyber attack on the HSE’s information technology systems. Waiting lists for in-patient and outpatient procedures look set to soar over the coming weeks following the cancellation of all outpatient clinics and all elective inpatient and day case procedures except time-critical cases, diagnostic investigations including radiology and endoscopy services. This major unexpected disruption to health services in the Mid-West coincides with the release of official figures from the National Purchase Treatment Fund, which revealed the number of in-patients on waiting lists in the region increased by 34% from 4,798 in January 2020 to 6,465 in April 2021, while the number on outpatients jumped 6.4% from 47,134 in January 2020 to 50,189. There are currently 41,035 patients on the out-patients waiting list at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) …

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Deputy Wynne Slams Government policy on student nurses’ pay as “exploitative”

  The Government’s failure to pay student nurses properly has been criticised as “disgraceful and exploitative’” by a local Sinn Féin deputy. In a recent Dáil vote, Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne said Government TDs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voted to prevent student nurses receiving a fair wage despite the essential role they have played during the Covid-19 pandemic. Deputy Wynne recalled Sinn Féin TDs spoke out on behalf of student nurses and voted for them to receive fair pay. “Student nurses do highly skilled work in challenging conditions. They are the glue holding our healthcare system together. Without them, the healthcare system quite simply could not function in the way that it does. “Throughout the pandemic, student nurses stepped up to work on the frontline to protect our communities and fight Covid-19. “They were rightly praised by all politicians at the time but they need more than praise- they need to see proper action from the …

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