Kenny can’t put price on proposals

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny couldn’t say yesterday how much his party’s proposal to provide 2,300 more hospital beds would cost.

Neither could he say how many more doctors and nurses would be required to staff the beds.

On the election trail in Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, Mr Kenny visited a series of hospitals to highlight the Government’s “broken promises” on health.

Firstly, Mr Kenny met with the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda.

Lack of investment meant the staff were working “in very pressurised circumstances,” he said, claiming he was “absolutely shocked” at just how bad that pressure was.

If returned to power, Fine Gael would deliver 2,300 new acute beds to tackle the crisis in hospitals, Mr Kenny said, adding that the beds would be provided over his government’s five-year term in office.

However, when asked how many extra doctors and nurses would be required to staff these beds, he replied: “I don’t know the exact figure of that but there’s no point in providing buildings that you don’t staff.”

Asked how much the 2,300 new beds would cost, he answered: “I don’t have that figure just to hand, but it’s part of our overall cost.”

Mr Kenny later visited Monaghan General Hospital, another facility suffering from lack of investment and services.

From there, he launched another attack on the Government’s record on health.

He also met with the Monaghan Hospital Action Group, but declined to sign a pledge committing Fine Gael to the redevelopment of services at the hospital.

Instead, he said he would study the pledge, respond to the group in writing, and stressed they would “not be disappointed.” He then visited Cavan General Hospital.

While on the constituency tour, Mr Kenny also outlined other commitments in his Contract for a Better Ireland, and reiterated that, if Taoiseach, any of his ministers reckless with the public’s money or failing to deliver would be sacked.

Mr Kenny cited as an example Environment Minister Dick Roche, who in his handling of the Galway water crisis had “shown himself to be incompetent”.

Meanwhile, he defended the fact that Fine Gael hired a German, rather than an Irish, company to print some of its election posters. Fianna Fáil had accused Mr Kenny of depriving Irish people of jobs.

“We use a variety of printers for producing our goods. They [FF] should be reminded that we are members of the European Union.”