Nurses’ chief says Micheál Martin ‘hasn’t been seen since election’

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

As the Dublin and Cork-based media drool over Micheál Martin, and marvel at Fianna Fáil’s comeback, not everyone is pleased with the Corkman’s performance.

She may be a former Fianna Fáil Galway City Councillor, but nurses’ chief Mary Leahy didn’t hold back when criticising the party leader.

As the First Vice President and Representative of INMO (Irish Midwives and Nurses Organisation), Mary knows a thing or two about the health service.

And she is less than impressed with the main opposition party’s approach to solving it.

“Micheál Martin has remained utterly silent on our health crisis,” miffed Mary on social media.

She was challenged on this but was resolute. Mary pointed out that Micheál Martin is in a leadership role, and is a former Minister for Health and yet he “remains quiet” on the problems impacting the health service.

She even suggested he feigned interest in University Hospital Galway during the election campaign. Shudder the thought.

Micheál, she said, was “eager to meet us (nurses)” at UHG “in preparation for last election” but there have been “no sightings since” and “no utterances”.

And how is Fianna Fáil faring on the issue of health? “Very poor”, according to Mary.

Whenever Micheál does surface, no doubt he’ll commission a report, which will gather dust like the myriad of other ones he commissioned while he was head honcho in health at Hawkins House.

Colette’s Clinton-esque crux

Hilary Clinton isn’t the only high-powered woman politician having problems with her emails.

Colette Connolly, the Independent Galway City Councillor, is having a spot of technology bother, too.

Though she isn’t the subject of an FBI investigation, like the former US secretary of State, the struggle is real for Colette.

She told her colleagues last week that she was having some sort of technological malfunction, and has “lost all my emails”.

Everyone, even her rivals, had some sympathy for Colette, bar Fine Gael’s Pádraig Conneely, who doesn’t use email and still relies on the tried-and-trusted fax machine, and postal service for communication.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.