LABOUR Party’s general election candidate, councillor Conor Sheehan, has condemned what he describes as the government’s costly attempt to refuse the €14.2billion awarded to Ireland by the EU Commission from Apple back taxes.
Cllr Sheehan believes that a proportion of the windfall must be invested into public services, particularly a second emergency department (ED) and Model 3 hospital in the Limerick and the Mid West.
“One would have assumed that the government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party would be delighted to receive such a vast sum of money despite, spending €10.3 million in taxpayers money trying to refuse the unpaid taxes,” he said, insisting that “this money could be used in a whole variety of ways, such as investing in public services like health, housing, policing to benefit the Irish people.”
Cllr Sheehan is now demanding that this money be used to fix the “broken” health service and deliver a second ED and Model 3 hospital for Limerick and the Mid West.
“The people of Limerick and those who have experienced unacceptable delays and poor conditions within UHL have waited for long enough and listened to broken promises year after year from this Government,” he said.
“People in Limerick should not be afraid to go to their local hospital. We must use the money to bring to an end the disgraceful situation where patients are left on trollies for long periods in corridors. We must use the Apple money to fill the 200 unfilled posts at UHL so that the overworked staff enjoy normal, safe working conditions.”
