Joe McHugh with his family casting their vote in Carrigart earlier.
Joe McHugh has moved to reassure the people of Donegal that he will fight “tooth and nail” to ensure that Donegal’s hospitals remain open.
The outgoing Fine Gael Minister and his party have faced criticism over proposed cutbacks at the county’s community hospitals.
But McHugh has promised that he will continue to lobby to keep Donegal’s health services in full working order.
“During this election, when I’m knocking on people’s doors, the concerns regarding the care centres are being raised with me, there’s no doubt that people are worried about the long term future of these centres in their communities.
“I have been given repeated commitments by both the HSE and the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar that the centres will continue to provide their current services in the long term. Additional funding is absolutely necessary for this to happen and I am giving a commitment that if I am re-elected, I will work with the community groups and my fellow public representatives to ensure that this happens. I appreciate the genuine concerns the communities have about long term beds. I will work to ensure there is a mix of both long term and short term into the future.
“This has also been about turning a political opportunity into a crisis. And parties have been prepared to use the most vulnerable (disabilities and elderly) as a weapon to seek power. I think that’s unacceptable and the worst type of opportunism.
“As part of that same announcement, I want to remind people that there was an overall investment of €51.59 million in Donegal by 2021. This includes the funding of €2.82 million for Falcarragh Community Hospital and €2.61 million funding for Dungloe Community Hospital. This investment is greatly needed and I am pleased that these community hospitals will receive this funding.”
McHugh admitted the election campaign is an extremely tight one referring to the new boundary changes, it has thrown up traditional patterns of support and voting and has opened up the platform for all the candidates running.
But he added that just as he has grasped the Irish language, he will continue to work for the people of Donegal if elected.
“I recall when the Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed me Minister for the Gaeltacht, there was a lot of controversy around my level of Irish language, or lack of! However I immediately set about changing that, I went back to Irish College in Glencolmcille and gave it everything. As a result, despite all the criticism I received at the time, I believe I turned that around and reminded people that anyone can learn the language. I also showed just how stubborn I am when I put my mind to something. It is the same in my capacity as a public representative in Donegal, I work tooth and nail on behalf of my constituents to ensure that we get our fair share.”
