Did anyone see Simon Harris's treatment of the carer who approached him in Co. Cork today? Despicable, condescending behaviour.

[Imperiallanger]

I'll try link. It's on RTEs Facebook page & the comments match his behaviour. The poor woman was visibly upset.

What she was saying was wrong because the govt did bring in supports for carers in the budget. She was not listening though and did not allow him a chance to explain before insulting him.

You are a very rude person.

I like the way you ignored everything I stated and just focused on hospitals, the cuts to paediatrics is huge, you only have to sit in one of the FEW children's hospital's to see and hear how bad the cuts are, yes there's cuts everywhere but the waiting time is significantly higher than adult hospitals. The government are responsible for this !

I could tell you plenty more cuts made by the government for the children, do you have to explain to a health care worker why you can't manage on 4 nappies a day for your 17 year old ? Because according to our government 5 just seems too many ! Do you have to feed your 17year old on the floor because her special needs chair is too small and there's a minimum of 6 months wait between measuring, ordering and receiving a new one ? Do you have to lie your 17 year old in the floor to change their nappy because you were turned down for a changing table because of cuts but it's ok according to you, we can always buy it ourselves for the great price of 4k !

The cuts made to adult services for our children mean they will have to remain at home when they leave school, no more interaction with other children with similar disabilities, no more OT, no physio, no SLT, we are going back in time, we should be able to send our children out into this world and receive the education and life skills and help they need, not staying at home putting more pressure that's already upon families and undoing all the good work they received, achieved up until that point !

Tell me this can or could you spend 24/7 with a severely disabled adult who requires EVERYTHING done for them, feed, wash, dress, toileting/nappies, sleepless nights, medications, and much more and not get any time for the rest of your family, or yourself, I've done it, it's hard and when they get those few hours at school it's a tremendous help, you can sometimes even get to have a shower during daylight hours and not the usual 1am when your child goes asleep for an hour and try not to wake them . With all the cuts by the government the services are not there anymore !

I am so happy to see this thread has a huge amount of sense and honesty forthcoming. I felt a bit alone on here yesterday.

Fine Gael has lost massive support due to this. I can't imagine his party is very happy. Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil & Aontú now appear to be the mainstream medias favoured parties on the back of this.

Well said @Wendysfriend they all need to be voted out on Friday.

The first thing you said to me was

"Are you on drugs"

And you're calling ME a rude person.

I've never said that to anyone in my life. I wouldn't dream of going up to some one and saying to them "are you on drugs"

Pot calling the kettle black.

Exactly. She barely let him speak and she kept insulting him. I can understand her frustration, but it's not the best way to get her point across.

Yes the health service is so bad its shocking!

I've heard doctors say that they won't work in Ireland anymore because the hospitals there are like being in a third world country.

I can't understand why they are so bad because ireland apparently has plenty of money

Who do you want in? Or do you want to say on here? I'm totally neutral as I don't live there anymore.

Are FG still ahead in the polls.

@Lallydallydune

Here's the latest polling. Personally find it scary to see the independent Ireland polling so well. I think have some completely bonkers stuff in their manifesto. A luas for every county??

The poll gauges Fine Gael support at 22%, which is down four percentage points on the last comparable poll at the beginning of the month.
Sinn Féin is up two points to 20% while Fianna Fáil is unchanged on 20%.
Independents, which includes Independent Ireland, are up three points to 19%.
There is a rise of two points in support for Aontú bringing the party to 5%.
The Social Democrats on 5% drop one point with Labour unchanged on 4%.
The Greens are down one point on 3%.
People Before Profit-Solidarity are unchanged on 2%.

She is an Aontu supporter. They are a separatist group of Sinn Fein who came about at the time if the referndum because they do not agree with abortion.

And yet again you're picking out what suits you and ignoring the facts !

@Imperiallanger

Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil & Aontú now appear to be the mainstream medias favoured parties on the back of this.

Fianna Fáil haven't gained at all. Sinn Fein have and a Aontú have rose to a still paltry 5% .

I really glad that you started this thread, tbh I hadn't considered voting Aontú, I was still reading through the different policies and still deciding what to do. I have now definitely made my mind up, so thank you

Are Aontú strong on disability services though?
OP is voting for them because of their position on gender.

They're looking to abolish the means testing for carer's allowance which is a big one for me and to change the respite current procedures. I noticed while reading a few other things outside of the disability policies that appeal to me. Of course it may be all talk but it's much more than the other parties are saying

It's not mentioned on the main points of the Aontu manifesto.

Disability was an important issue for me so I looked into this closely. The social democrats want a minister for disabilities and this is a very important issue for them. Fine Gael are also strong on disabilities in their manifesto.

This is why I said it's so important to figure out your main concerns, read ALL the manifestos and see which one most closely aligns to you.
It may not be who you think.

Aontu are very socially conservative and opposed abortion and a woman's right to choose. This is why they were founded.
If that's your thing go for it. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs but it's important to be aware what you are voting for.

Even the dental sector is terrible & so expensive. My dentist currently has a 3 week wait list😢 it's very frustrating.

It's the same in the UK. Hopefully things can be improved.

We live in tough times. All the governments make things harder for people than they need to be.

Hopefully the generations in the future will have easier lives.

https://aontu.ie/children-with-disabilities-failed-by-the-dcya

Aontú's stance on disability.

The prices of braces are insane. Three of mine will require in the coming years at a cost of 2k each, their teeth don't fit the criteria for braces through the HSE😭

I do not align with the Social Democrats but the proposal for a Minister for Disabilities is excellent.

Molly folk I agree with you re independent Ireland. Some of their pledges are bonkers. And there are serious animal rights issues in their manifesto too. I was all set to give them something but I can't now. I only realised this week when another craicnetter raised awareness..