€840 million given in foreign aid but 1 palliative care bed for 47,000 Longford people "not good enough"

Councillor David Cassidy has expressed his fury and disgust at the fact that an elderly terminally ill cancer patient was left without heat in his hospital room at a time when Ireland’s foreign aid contribution is set to hit a record high of €840 million.  

In calling upon Longford County Council to write to Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, the HSE, and all Oireachtas members in Longford / Westmeath to demand the provision of at least five additional palliative care beds in Longford’s St Joseph's Care Centre, the Drumlish councillor stated that a new €20 million facility proposed for Tullamore was not a realistic option for patients in Longford.

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He told the chamber, “Planning has been approved and secured for a new €20 million specialist (hospice) facility in Tullamore. This new facility is supposed to serve Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, and Longford. We currently have one palliative care bed in this county.

 “The population of this county is in the region of 47,000 people. That’s one bed for 47,000 people. This is simply not good enough."

“North Longford is 97km from Tullamore which is more or less a 3 hour round trip for a family to visit a patient. By saying this new facility in Tullamore will serve the people of Longford is simply a box ticking exercise.” 

Cllr Cassidy added, “I am sick of the way this county is being treated at a national level and I’m sick of this county always having to settle for second best.

“The reason I am proposing this motion is because a man in North Longford contacted me to say he was visiting his father in hospital lately. 

“This man is dying of cancer and when the son arrived to visit him, the man was sitting in the hallway by the radiator because the radiator in his room had been broken for two days so there was no heat.”  

Upon referencing a patient who had to drive to Tullamore 3-4 times a week for dialysis, the councillor added, “Meanwhile we’re set to hit a record high of €840 million on foreign aid in 2026. 

“We have a voluntary return programme for individuals who have no legal status in Ireland, are paid €2,000, and up to €10,000 for a family, to return to their country of origin.

“Meanwhile a dying man from my area is hunched over a radiator in a hallway. He can’t even die with dignity in the county he was born and reared in.” 

Councillor Peggy Nolan commended Councillor Cassidy on an excellent notice of motion and agreed that it “didn’t make sense” to expect people from Longford to travel to Tullamore for medical treatment. 

“Bear in mind there’s no road or rail to Tullamore, so how in God’s name are people from Longford meant to get to Tullamore?” she asked. 

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“When I brought this up at the Dublin and Midlands Health Forum, I was told the HSE are not transport providers. 

“So these people can put services for the people of Longford wherever they like and without any thought given to transport.” 

Cllr Nolan reiterated her support for Cllr Cassidy’s motion but added that County Longford Hospice Homecare were providing a great service as it not only allowed people to die with dignity in their own home, it also helped take the pressure off the hospital.

With regard to dialysis, Cllr Nolan said, “I have been lobbying for a number of years for a dialysis unit on the Dublin Road and the minister is coming down to have a look at the feasibility of it.”

Councillors Kevin Hussey, Paul Ross and Uruemu Adejinmi also voiced their support for the motion.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme