THE current political situation is “an awful mess” and the upcoming elections, and the possibility of direct rule, is the last thing we need when facing so many pressing issues here in Fermanagh.
That’s the message from Age Sector Platform’s Patricia Donald, who organises the local Pensioners’ Parliament.
Among the pressing issues that could be adversely affected in the current crisis are free prescriptions, heating allowance, and pensioners’ bus passes, said Ms Donald.
“If we end up with direct rule we will lose bus passes,” she said, referring to how things were currently run on mainland Britain.
“Your bus pass in England only takes you to the border of your county.
“It wouldn’t work for going to Belfast or Dublin. If I lived in Darlington in Co Durham, for example, my bus pass would take me to the border of Durham. It wouldn’t take me to London, I’d have to pay if I wanted to leave my county.”
She added: “They don’t have free prescriptions like in England.
“ The heating allowance will also be under threat, because Duncan-Smith doesn’t want us to have those kind of things. And university fees will go up like they are in England.”
Stressing ongoing problems in the local health service, including concerns for the future of the stroke unit at SWAH, Ms Donald said: “Pensioners are concerned, everyone is concerned.
“Nothing will be solved by direct rule, and we don’t want another election with the same result. It’ll just be like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic. It’s an awful mess.”
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