Changes to a public service air route are down to \u201cpeople in Dublin making decisions that have no idea what it\u2019s like living in Donegal\u201d, a campaigner has said.<\/p>\n
It comes amid concern that a changed timetable for the Public Service Obligation (PSO) route between Donegal and Dublin will cut off a \u201cmedical lifeline\u201d for cancer patients.<\/p>\n
Donegal Cancer Flights and Services has expressed concern to changes to the route which currently operates most days with morning and afternoon departures from Donegal, and lunchtime and evening return flights from Dublin.<\/p>\n
The contract is due to expire on February 25th and it is believed it will be replaced with an earlier first round-trip starting from Dublin and a much later evening service both ways.<\/p>\n
Donegal Cancer Flights and Services helps cancer patients with booking flights, counselling support and other information.<\/p>\n
It said the new timetable removes the midday service and takes away a guarantee of \u201cgenuine same-day access\u201d for cancer patients and others travelling for essential medical care.<\/p>\n
The group, which has been running since 2017, said this would fundamentally undermine the purpose of a PSO route.<\/p>\n
I see how financially stretched they are and it is very heavy on the heart<\/p>\n
Mary Coyle<\/p>\n
Organiser Mary Coyle told the Press Association that the service cannot book flights for patients past February 25th because of the uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Coyle predicted that the proposed earlier flight from the capital would be \u201cempty\u201d and expressed concern that it would not be prioritised, leaving Dublin Airport.<\/p>\n
She explained how the group has been working with the Irish Cancer Society and Dublin oncology departments to arrange transport to morning appointments for patients who could be at risk.<\/p>\n
She also said that the changed timetable may leave no seats available at short notice \u2013 and drive up the price of tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of these people we would organise assistance for them because they\u2019re ill.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they would have to navigate their way to a taxi and find accommodation for the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is people who are not working, or pensioners that already are stretched for money \u2013 so it\u2019s not viable, it doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coyle emphasised that Donegal did not have other infrastructure in terms of rail routes.<\/p>\n
She said she did not believe Transport Minister Darragh O\u2019Brien \u201cunderstands how the people of Donegal rely on these flights\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the people coming in, I see how financially stretched they are and it is very heavy on the heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you have people in Dublin making decisions that have no idea what it\u2019s like living in Donegal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calling for the timetable to remain the same, she added: \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of dignity and compassion here for patients that are up for treatment or up waiting for kidney transplants of children that are ill.\u201d<\/p>\n
In search of an \u201curgent\u201d meeting with O\u2019Brien, members of the group told his department they would be travelling to Dublin on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
However, the group has been informed he will not be available on the day.<\/p>\n
Coyle said her group will continue to seek a meeting with O\u2019Brien as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for O\u2019Brien said he will be away on government business and will send a representative to meet the group instead.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the spokeswoman said: \u201cAn early morning flight departing from Donegal and the evening return flight from Dublin, which is relied on by many, including critical care patients, to ensure a daily round trip to Dublin, will continue to be facilitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minister is acutely aware of the importance of this critical service for the people of Donegal who are dependent on it and has arranged for a representative to meet with Donegal Cancer Flights and Services in Leinster House, as the minister is away on government business.<\/p>\n
The group will hand over a petition signed by more than 15,000 people, calling on the Government to protect the PSO air service as it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Changes to a public service air route are down to \u201cpeople in Dublin making decisions that have no…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-289900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}