Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

"MANY IRISH LIVING IN ENGLAND ISOLATED AND NEGLECTED" MC GINN TELLS SINN FÉIN ARD FHEIS

Published: 1 March, 2009

Speaking at the recent Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in Dublin, Newry and Mourne Councillor Pat Mc Ginn stated that the poor physical and mental health of Irish people living in England despite having been continually demonstrated by researchers, had received little attention. The Councillor speaking on a motion relating to thee need for provision of realistic funding and support for those suffering with mental health problems, reminding delegates of the plight that many Irish living in England were in said "As well as poor physical health, Irish people in England have a high incidence of mental health problem - well above the rates for most other migrant groups. The fact that there are Irish living in England who are economically and socially successfully compounds the neglect by masking the disadvantage that exists in sections of the community and conceals the evidence that while health is good among Irish people in higher socio-economic groups, premature mortality and the incidence of certain illnesses are still high compared with similar sections of the population". The Fews area Councillor explained that last year Newry was one of the two locations, which participated in a landmark mental health study. "The study into the mental health of the Irish community in Britain - specifically Birmingham - was carried out by academics from the Federation of Irish Societies, the umbrella organisation for over 115 Irish groups and 700,000 Irish people in Britain. As part of the project, the researchers visited Cork and Newry to compare mental health services here with those in Birmingham and to see how they have coped with the new immigrant communities that have settled here". Pat who also took the opportunity at the Ard Fheis to update delegates on the latest developments relating to the undocumented Irish living in the USA, concluded by praising the work of those groups who throughout Britain on a daily basis cared for the many Irish who felt abandoned and neglected, and he urged Sinn Fein to continue to support and champion the cause of the Irish living in there