"Drunk tanks" are the only answer to drink-sodden young adults who are causing overcrowding at A&E departments, writes Enda Kenny
Had I known my ardfheis speech would generate two-columns' worth from Fintan O'Toole, I would have sent him an invitation to hear it, and the details of our party policy, in person. That way he may not have embarrassed himself so acutely with our director of elections, Frank Flannery, in a Newstalk interview with George Hook.
It's time for Fintan O'Toole to drop the shovel and stop digging.
He is deeply offended by the term "drunk tank". Yes, "drunk tank" is, indeed, a less-than-edifying term, which is why it is the perfect match for the less-than-edifying, unrestrained drunkenness that now necessitates these tanks at A&E.
He and fellow sensitive souls might have preferred me to use a more politically-correct term such as "a recovery suite", into whose sound system we could pipe Mozart.
But for me, a "drunk tank" is the proper place for anyone, young or old who, 10 pints or 12 vodka shots later, arrives legless at A&E, cheerleaders in tow, to wreak havoc on seriously ill people and those trying to care for them.
In a decent society, nobody suffering from a stroke or end-stage cancer should be forced to go a few rounds with habitually drink-sodden young adults. Nor should their families and carers. A recent survey at a major Dublin hospital found that more than three quarters of respondents felt threatened by drunks at A&E. We intend to protect them from that threat.
The term "drunk tank", then, sends an unequivocal message: Fine Gael will not tolerate the habitual, rampant public drunkenness that has taken hold of communities all over Ireland. Arrive at A&E purely drunk and you will be shown to your proper place - a drunk tank. The beds will be kept for the real medical emergencies.
To state the blindingly obvious, anyone showing up at A&E needing medical attention will receive it, drunk or sober. Those who are solely drunk will be allowed to sleep off their intoxication in a medically supervised drunk tank on an easy-clean plastic mattress. Let's remember that drunk tanks work, as Dr Liam Twomey can attest from his extensive medical experience.
Fintan O'Toole suggests I "talk to the voters". If he talked to the people, instead of those around the dining-room table, he would know I've been doing exactly that for the last four years. But more importantly, I've listened. As leader of Fine Gael, I've attended hundreds of public meetings, visited community groups, schools, creches, nursing homes, hospitals and Garda stations across the country.
I listen intently as people tell me they cannot figure out how, at a time of unprecedented wealth, our health-care system is in crisis, serious crime is rising and they're being ripped off every time they shop or pay a bill. Above all, I listen when they tell me they want a government that will use the wealth of this country to deliver the public services they deserve.
My speech had four key themes: one, the disconnection between the success of our private lives and, thanks to Government incompetence, the abject failure of many vital public services; two, how we need new governance to tackle waste in Government spending; three, sensible proposals to tackle the national disgrace that is A&E; and four, rebalancing the criminal justice system to protect the rights of the law-abiding majority.
Each of these proposals is practical and constitutional.
On A&E, back in the spotlight on this week's Prime Time Investigates, I proposed five eminently sensible solutions. Apart from tackling the disorderly drunks, we will develop a network of state-of-the-art Urgent Care Centres. These Urgent Care Centres, 24-hour primary care facilities, will be staffed by GPs and practice nurses, equipped with X-ray and ultrasound; in short, everything necessary to deal with minor emergencies. We will give free GP care to every child under five, taking pressure off parents and resulting in fewer families arriving first in casualty. Critically, we will provide 600 new, step-down beds for respite and rehabilitation for elderly patients.
Moreover, Fine Gael alone has published a comprehensive health-screening programme for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol as part of our plan to keep people healthy and out of hospital. I also restated my opposition to developing private hospitals on public land. I cannot find one solution that is either "stupid" or "illegal", as Fintan O'Toole claims.
Finally, he suggests that my major challenge is to persuade "people who are broadly on the left" to support Fine Gael in the general election. Obviously, he is consumed with government of the right or left. I am driven by a sense of government being right or wrong.
Therefore, it is right to tackle drunks in A&E.
It is right to give parents easier access to medical care for their children. It is right to provide the step-down beds, without which our health service will collapse. It is right to screen to prevent illness. Above all, it is right to use Ireland's wealth to deliver the first-class public services our first-class people deserve.
Enda Kenny is leader of Fine Gael