A petition of over 11,000 signatures seeking to save services at St Brigid’s Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir has been handed to Minister Mary Butler.
Members of the Save St Brigid’s Group travelled to Leinster House yesterday to hand over the petition and discuss the issue with national TDs and Senators.
The HSE is intent on closing respite and palliative services at St Brigid’s to transform it into a centre for Chronic Disease Management.
Former Tipp TD Séamus Healy was among those to hand the petition over to Minister Butler.
“We met her briefly to deliver the petition, however we met her in a public space, under pressure from the ushers to have a very quick meeting, so it was unsatisfactory from that point of view.
“But we made our case as well as we could in the circumstances and we delivered the petition.
“Certainly I feel the Minister is well aware of the depth of feeling now, right throughout the area and she’s also aware that this is an issue that’s not going to go away.”
He added that the number of names on the petition really showed how many people were concerned about the closure of St Brigid’s and this allowed them to put pressure on the politicians to reopen the hospital.
