Minister must put people before horses

The Irish Family Planning Association’s (IFPA) busiest clinic, which is located in Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin, had to cancel its services for medical card holders last month, because it ran out of funds during September.

Some may flippantly suggest that those affected should practice abstinence, but the inevitable result will be unwanted pregnancies, and the ultimate cost to the State will be so much greater in social consequences.

The clinic ran out of money in mid-September, due to the surge of people with medical cards using their services in the Dublin area.

The IFPA’s grant has spiralled by more than five times in the years since 2000. There has not been a corresponding increase in population, so people might well wonder about the increased need for the clinic’s services, but the problem is one that should be tackled without delay.

In September of this year, some 7,000 people visited the centre for help. Those most affected are likely to be young people and the disadvantaged. The consequences of unwanted pregnancies are often abortions or unwanted children, who can have horrific consequences both in human and financial terms.

We have enough social problems without inviting more.

When it comes to providing money for horses or horse enthusiasts, there seems to be no financial shortage. It is not too much to expect that the Minister for Finance would put people before horses.