Letters: Illness industry is making a killing from Ireland's struggling health service

Irish Independent

28-04-2025

Did anybody count the number of millionaires in Big Pharma recently?
Until our so-called health ministers spend more than about 2pc of their budget educating school attendees on how to stay healthy and what many bad habits can do to our internal bodies, the hospital situation will continue to get worse.
Richard Barton, Maynooth, Co Kildare
Childish focus on seating arrangements struck the wrong note on solemn day
Congratulations to the Irish ­Independent for your coverage of the papal funeral. Balanced and fair.
Prior to the funeral of Pope Francis (RIP), a number of media outlets were rather childishly gloating over the prospect that US president Donald Trump would be seated well down the back.
It seems no occasion is safe from their vacuous speculations. Especially when it might show their ideological enemy in a negative light.
Well, it appears that the Vatican didn't get this particular memo. Mr Trump couldn't have been given a more prominent position in the seating arrangements. Front and centre. Cardinal Timothy Dolan is no fool.
I viewed the funeral on Sky (liberal) and Fox (conservative) News, to get a balanced perspective, and on both outlets the US president was a central focus of attention. Apart, of course, from the late Pope Francis.
It's a pity that such a solemn and dignified ceremony was used by some outlets in an attempt to score cheap points.
As it transpired, they only gave credence to Mr Trump's accusations that some media sources are promoting 'fake news'.
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We also definitely now know who's who in the world pecking order.
Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath
Osbourne and co should save the outrage for those killing children in Gaza
It's heartbreaking to constantly hear of children who are being actively starved to death in Gaza. This should prompt non-stop outrage in the world's media.
Why is it that there appears to have been far more outrage in certain sections of the US media about the fact that the west Belfast rap group Kneecap recently ended their Californian performance at Coachella by displaying a risque message calling for the Palestinians to be freed?
US Fox News then went into a complete meltdown about it.
The TV personality Sharon Osbourne then came out and denounced what she called Kneecap's aggressive statements and called for the group to have their US visas revoked.
I totally concur with Kneecap's ­response to Osbourne by noting: 'Statements aren't aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.'
John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Selling hospital's name to the highest bidder would be a shameful decision
As minister for health in 2020, Simon Harris considered naming the new National Children's Hospital after a wealthy donor as a way of funding the project.
Mr Harris cited approvingly the sponsorship by golfer Jack Nicklaus of a children's hospital in Miami as an example we could follow.
I find this suggestion repugnant and unethical as there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The Independent senator Victor Boyhan suggested naming the new hospital in memory of Dr Kathleen Lynn.
I feel certain such a choice would have universal agreement.
We in this country have been very fortunate with the calibre of citizens who, on the premise of volunteer participation, gave sterling service to assist the poor, the sick and the marginalised and are worthy of recognition by the State.
Dr Kathleen Lynn is one who must surely be considered by the current Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
Dr Lynn set high standards of care for the less well-off and destitute children at a time when the nascent Irish Free State could not cope.
To even consider selling naming rights of the new hospital to the highest bidder tarnishes the reputation of the Oireachtas.
Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6
Like Mary Regan, I still remember the moment I caught the political bug
I would like to wish Mary Regan the best of luck in her new role as the Irish Independent political editor. I can remember the headline about the Grand Alliance between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats that first whetted her political interest (Irish Independent, April 26).
Mary was in her grandmother's shop and people were identified by what newspaper they read. I remember that summer and I would not have called the government that emerged from that election as a Grand Alliance. It was more of a reunion of old foes that put their differences aside to form a government.
There were some members of the stronger party in that government that used to refer to the arrangement as temporary, but they did stick together for three years and then the stronger party did find another partner. The two parties that did coalesce in 1989 were bedfellows again in 1997.
I admire her phrase 'a new political era was declared and the pulse of electricity generated by such a novel turn in Irish politics'. There has been many a turn in Irish politics since.
My political interest was whetted in the Burren in 1977 when the news of a landslide victory for Jack Lynch was coming across on the radio. I can remember how happy the children of the devoted supporters of the poor Fianna Fáil farmers were feeling. They felt like a new era was dawning. Government ministers like Justin Keating were losing their seats and a party with the greatest ever overall majority was coming in to place.
I am glad to see that Mary is trying to whet the political interest of her daughter. I hope that she will remember her day out in Leinster House that Friday.
I never forgot that day on June 16, 1977, in O'Brien's tower on the Cliffs of Moher in my short pants, when the tally figures results were broadcast nationwide.
Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo
McGregor's visit to the garden was an unwelcome reminder to many of us
As Conor McGregor shows up at the Garden of Remembrance – the wish is, please stay in your own garden so we can forget you.