Have the Monaghan Hospital campaign Photos of todays protest?

monaghan | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Monday September 25, 2006 16:26 by Anon - .

10,000 Doorsteppers.

There are reports on the radio that the Ceann Comhairle and Pat the Cope
Gallagher were unable to get out of ministerial cars to open the Monaghan
Bypass due to a convergence by the Monaghan Hospital protest Group.

10,000 people turned up for the ribbon-cutting and Ministers were stuck in
cars, One had handfuls of stones thrown at him.

The protest has been ongoing for some time, maybe a protestor could fill
in the history of the protest, the reasons for the convergence being
obvious.

The attempts by the State to centralise services in the area including the
shutting down of the Maternity services wherein women in Labour have to
trvel to Cavan general by Ambulance, led to the death of one infant.
The incubator was not switched on in Monaghan, at the time. Media
reports other cases that did not end so tragically for the families.
The protestors had kept up a vigil out side the Taoiseach's Dept in Dublin
for some months during the winter months a couple of years ago.
The protest today, at the scene of the Bypass opening was in response to reports
of the imminent closure of hospital services in the region.

Other hospital rationalisation /centralisation programmes have led to the
accquisition of the site for the new Children's hospital on the Mater site
which protestors claim has not the correct infrastructure or land -mass
to provide adequate services for the proposed scheme. It is in close
proximity to the site at Mountjoy soon to be sold by the Dept of Justice.
Allegations of improper processes in the land accquistion are being investigated
at the moment.