FERMANAGH and South Tyrone MP Pat Cullen has spoken out about the significant challenges facing local education and public services, following a recent visit to St Kevin’s College in Lisnaskea.
Ms Cullen, who marked five months in her new role in Westminster, highlighted the ‘disgusting’ disparity in facilities, pointing out that the school, built to accommodate 460 pupils, now has 720.
The students are currently being taught in mobile classrooms that have been condemned.
“These classrooms are not fit for human use, yet teachers and pupils continue to work there with smiles on their faces,” Ms Cullen said.
The Lisnaskea Medical Centre is also awaiting financial support for a major expansion, and Ms Cullen expressed frustration at the lack of investment in local education and health services, which she believes are falling behind the rest of Northern Ireland.
Having led the fight for better pay for healthcare workers as the former Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Ms Cullen said she felt compelled to enter politics this year to continue advocating for public sector workers.
“Every morning when I got up, I felt the weight of those 560,000 nurses that I represented on my shoulders. So I made a commitment to myself and to them,” Ms Cullen explained.
“People are struggling and I can see it in every aspect of life in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, the impact of Tory austerity on our economy, our infrastructure and on our public services.
“I wasn’t going to take on a role where I believed that the leadership was lacking. In Michelle (O’Neill) and Mary Lou (McDonald), they’re the strong leaders that I want to walk alongside.”
On healthcare, Ms Cullen reassured the community that South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) will not close, despite capacity issues.
“I’ve met with the Chief Executive, the Medical Director and Nursing Director and they have stated very clearly to me that the SWAH is here to stay,” she said.
“It’s functioning as an acute hospital and I’ve seen that with my own eyes. It suffers from the same capacity issues as other hospitals, but it’s not a hospital that is going to close down any time soon.
“There is a continuing negativity around the work that staff at the South West Acute Hospital do, which is very unfair.”
Ms Cullen also expressed frustration over public sector pay, stating that frontline workers such as nurses and teachers are being treated unfairly.
“Our people deserve to be treated like nurses in London, Manchester, or Birmingham,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to wait for a pay rise every year.”
The MP highlighted the growing issue of domestic abuse in Fermanagh. Despite limited funding for the local Women’s Aid group, she praised their tireless work and commitment to supporting those affected by violence.
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