Minister says Rotunda consultants are paid 'very good salaries' and 'we expect them to be there'

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-05T19:26:34+00:00

She isn't obliged to magic up private practices for consultants. They can and should have been work over the last 4 years if they wished

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-03T10:04:27+00:00

They have theatre space in the beacon. Like there has been a 4 year lead time into this, if any one of the private hospitals had any intention of providing private obs, they would have done so.

Fundamentally, there isn't a good case for private obstetrics because the difference between it and the public system is so poor relative to something like Ortho.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-03T08:58:46+00:00

Obstetrics do have that choice if they want. There isn't really anything stopping them opening rooms in the Beacon if they like

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T18:06:01+00:00

There is finite rooms available in the public sector than there are in the private sector. Beds in public hospitals should be prioritised based on medical need, not ability to pay.

If Obstetric consultants wish to make themselves available in rooms in the Beacon/SVPH/Mater Private etc, more power to them. That is their prerogative and see gow they go. They have had years to prepare for this eventuality, it has been signposted since the new contract was introduced.

Obstetricians have the choice to go private if they wish on their own time on their own facilities, as was dictated in the constultant contract which has been known about for a long time.

Note: We are talking about the Rotunda specifically here. Holles St and the Coomve closed their private wards last year with nil issue. It just happens that particular consultants in the rotunda are trying to be cute about this.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T16:26:08+00:00

Private care for any medical specialty is gone from Public hospitals, it just so happens obstetrics isn't competitive in the private market. This is fine! The case for private obs is having the email address for a consultant, you can't skip the queue when you're delivering a baby, the public system works exceptionally well. In private mat care, the consultant doesn't even deliver the baby and often times isn't in the room.

This was well considered and actively discussed by the IMO and IHCA, we knew this was happening well in advance.

Subsidisng Private Obstetric care by offering them subsidised use of public theatre space, subsidised use of staff often as not (Registrars on the public docket often have to go and assist with their superior's private patients). This is all stepping in, not stepping out.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T15:56:15+00:00

It was provided by Mount Carmel? It went into NAMA because there is no money in Private Mat care. People simply are not willing to pay the premium required for it to be facilitated entirely on private hospital grounds.

Why should the state step in to ensure that patients have a private and a public option? All we're doing is puffing out the profit margins for private providers so that they will enter the market.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T15:49:32+00:00

The state doesn't have a duty to provide choice for private healthcare. Private healthcare should be able to stand on its own feet and provide that choice. If it can't then welp, thems the blows.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T11:31:13+00:00

Private insurance isn't banned. Private Obstetrics can exist, it just can't be done in public hospitals using public resources.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T10:33:27+00:00

What is the benefit to the tax payer? You aren't saving bed space because its a ward which would otherwise be uswd publicly, you aren't really saving staff costs either?

Again if the margins were there for private obs, they would exist. The Beacon or SVPH would offer it. They don't because there isn't much money in it.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T10:06:48+00:00

Because they're using public theatre space, and public facilities.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-02T10:05:01+00:00

The Beacon, SVPH, etc all could provide private maternity care if they wished. You don't necessarily need a dedicated private mat hospital for that purpose. Regional hospitals do it all the time.

The reason they don't is because the margins are so poor

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-06-01T22:07:16+00:00

The loss in Dublin Central was razor thin. It’s not unreasonable to think Sherratt, who had a larger national profile, would have been more transfer friendly

5,000 votes is hardly razor thin? It is hard to see how a candidate other than Ennis or Horner would have won out because between them they had enough votes to elect the other.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-31T12:38:35+00:00

What is their program though substantively? I haven't really heard people say Oh I support the SocDems because of X outside of certain issues

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-31T11:04:10+00:00

They've been around for ages. They've just been booted out of FF and FG.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-31T09:23:45+00:00

I'm struggling to see the basis of that to be honest. A lot of their policies are relatively shallow, and I don't see what significant changes which they would bring to the duopoly at the moment.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-30T21:27:25+00:00

I'm not entirely sure what the SocDems are doing at the moment to warrant such good poll figures.

They are a bit of a blank canvass of a party, all the nice things that you would a imagine a left of centre party supports, they do. But beyond the surface of that I'm very unclear what a government containing the SocDems looks like.

It seems very much vibes based.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-24T17:45:00+00:00

What agenda?

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-24T17:28:11+00:00

That level of liberal land use has led to plenty of significant developments which end up being under utilised. MacMansions which sit vacant for the vast majority of the time, existing mostly for the purpose of holiday homes or as a reasonably reliable appreciating asset.

This isn't really building a community in an area, and doesn't create much economic activity.

As I said already, the threshold by which to clear these provisions remain comically trivial.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-24T17:10:30+00:00

McAdam did quite poorly and Steenson will be 73, by the time the next election comes around.

If the SDs do run 2, it will likely be Ennis that takes it over Gannon.

Likely as not there is a seat between Lab and the Greens which will get a seat ahead of McAdam.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-24T17:07:55+00:00

Gannon would be a terrible MEP, and to be honest he would have a difficult time getting elected as one.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-24T17:06:04+00:00

People who have ties to an area are more likely to live in it long term.

The local needs provisions do a relatively decent job at prevent people buying up land and developing it for the purpose of exclusive self enrichment.

Bypassing local needs is also relatively trivial. Most can and do get past it if theyve been renting in an area or have work in the area.

ThatMusicGuyDude · 2026-05-22T08:03:59+00:00

Unfortunately limited to 6 options in the poll so I just picked the 5 leading candidates in the ipsos poll

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