As discussion on the possibility of Irish unity has increased, so too has the conversation on those policy areas, such as health and social care, which affect citizens most.
There are many reasons, but no excuses, for the critical state of health services on the island of Ireland. Successive Irish and British governments have not prioritised our public health services. They have failed to plan services according to need, to train and retain enough health and social care professionals, or to modernise health and care provision for the 21st century.
The gap between public and private is growing in the south’s two-tier health service, despite the all-party commitment to Sláintecare. Little progress has been made towards realising that vision.
Waiting times have grown unacceptably long in the north, where the crisis is exacerbated by the financial control of Westminster and the impact of partition on our ability to make decisions that maximise all-island potential.
Unequal access to care and unfair disparities in investment are a challenge for communities throughout the island of Ireland. Middle and lower-income working-class families and communities are more likely to have poorer health outcomes, lower life expectancy, and suffer higher levels of mental ill health including addiction, suicide and self-harm. This is unacceptable and avoidable.
A new generation brimming with talent, energy and courage is stepping forward to shape a new Ireland - the Ireland that has been denied to our parents and grandparents. The discussion on a new and united Ireland is happening now. It is the most important public conversation of our lifetime and it belongs to each and every one of us.
This discussion is an opportunity to protect and future-proof our public health services. All-island cooperation and planning make sense. It is the responsibility of the Irish government and the Executive to work together to improve health services for the people of Ireland. They should also give the health and care community the necessary space to deliver improvements without regard to the border, in a fair and shared way.
The Irish government should convene a Citizens’ Assembly and other deliberative forums to actively discuss and plan for constitutional change, and to harness the positive energy and momentum which exists.
Part of our collective task is to encourage, inform and further the conversation on the kind of new Ireland we want to see: a fairer and more equitable Ireland in which all can enjoy a better quality of life and have access to a health service that meets the needs of a changing society.
Sinn Féin’s Commission on the Future of Ireland will host a discussion today (June 6) at 1pm in St Comgall’s – Ionad Eileen Howell, Belfast themed on ‘Health and Care in a New Ireland’.
We are inviting interested groups, organisations and individuals to come along to this important discussion and have their say.
As the conversation around the future constitutional shape of the island of Ireland gathers momentum so too does the debate on the future provision of health.
On an island of under seven million people – less than the population of most of the world’s great cities – it makes no sense having two separate health services with no all-island healthcare plan.
On its own, an Irish National Health and Care Service cannot overcome the inequalities and poverty in society that contribute to bad health.
However, a national health service linked to a growing all-island economy that is providing new jobs and higher wages; that is raising living standards and providing additional tax revenues for better public services, including health and education, can successfully overcome existing inequality.
Philip McGuigan is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on health.