Thousands gather in Limerick for protest against hospital overcrowding

Rallies highlighting hospital overcrowding are taking place in Limerick, Cork, Tralee, Galway, and other centres nationwide today

The protest began at 11am in Limerick city centre

Thousands of people gathered in Limerick on Saturday morning for a rally to highlighting hospital overcrowding and delays at emergency department of University Hospital, Limerick (UHL)

Protests are also taking place outside Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Kerry in Tralee as well at hospitals in Galway, Letterkenny, and other sites where patients have faced long delays this winter.

Members of Aoife Johnston’s family were among the crowd today and the protest held a minute’s silence in her memory in Arthur’s Quay park.

Overall, 18 protests are taking place nationwide. 

Mike Daly, the organiser of the Limerick march, which was the first set for this date following the crisis at UHL in early January, had earlier called for a large turnout. He said: 

“We turned out in the thousands for Limerick hurlers, constantly turning up in the thousands for Munster Rugby, so ye got to turn up in the thousands for this march.

He said the protest is for “all who have passed away needlessly at UHL including my own Dad.” 

Trade union SIPTU is supporting this march, with SIPTU organiser Ger Kennedy to address the protest on behalf of their members working at University Hospital Limerick. 

Protesters at this morning's rally in Limerick. Picture: Jess Casey

No politicians were invited, Mr Daly said. The protest began at 11am outside City Hall in Merchant’s Quay.

In Cork, organisers were also expecting a large turnout, with people confirmed as travelling from as far as Bantry and Skibbereen to the protest site at the gates of CUH for 1pm.

Mike Daly. picture: Brendan Gleeson

Aontú representative for Cork North-Central, Finian Toomey, urged the public to “make a stand”.

The party is supporting the marches, but he said: 

We are asking all parties and none to join us, to protest against the lack of services, the lack of doctors, the lack of consultants and the debacle that the health service is in this country. 

Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín is chair of the Navan hospital protest.

“One thing we can all be sure of is, one day we will need a ED [emergency department],” he said.

“People are incredibly angry and frustrated that the old and the sick have been treated horrendously. The experience of so many has been massively damaged by the lack of capacity is the ED system.” 

He added: “Much of this damage has been caused by the policy of closing EDs, beds and the lack of provision of doctors, nurses and consultants. The policy of service closure is still in place in Navan ED.” 

Mr Tóibín predicted that “thousands” will march across the 18 sites. 

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Some hospital campaign groups in the North are also planning to protest against similar issues, including at Daisy Hill and Craigavon hospitals.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said that last year 121,318 patients, including 2,777 children, spent a night on a trolley or chair, unable to get a hospital bed after being admitted through a hospital Emergency Department.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “We have had silent acceptance from Government and the HSE on this type of overcrowding for far too long."