Promises on health must be honoured

THE three greatest certainties in Irish political life are lies, damn lies and broken election promises. People are now complaining about the dishonest Fianna Fáil promises, but they should remember that Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin all made similarly lavish promises as they vied with each other.

This was particularly apparent in their utopian prescriptions for the health service.

Despite an insistence as late as mid May that "no cutbacks whatsoever are being planned, secretly or otherwise" the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, is now insisting on drastic cuts in Government expenditure. Minister for Health Micheál Martin is insisting, however, there will be no effective cuts to health. He has been bragging that the Department of Health has already increased its budget by 118 million this year. His department has largely escaped the latest belt-tightening demands of the Minister for Finance.