A NORTHSIDE
councillor, who resigned his position on a HSE forum in protest over cuts to St
Francis Hospice, Raheny, is to run this year’s Dublin Marathon to raise funds
for the charity.
Last year the
HSE board cut back
?¬600,000 from St Francis’s budget, a sum Donaghmede ward
councillor Tom Brabazon (FF) described as
“enormous
?.
“At that time I
was a nominee from Dublin City Council on the HSE North East Area Forum,
? he
explained.
Protest
“Whilst
recognising that given the condition of the public finances cuts were necessary
I resigned from that position immediately to mark my protest at this particular
cut.
“In my view
our society is marked out by the way it treats its sick and in particular those
who are terminally ill.
“I felt very
strongly that other choices were available to the HSE board to save this money
and I have since been looking for a practical way to help raise funds for the
Hospice.”
Practical
Cllr Brabazon
said one of those practical ways was to run the Dublin City Marathon, which
takes place on the October bank holiday weekend.
“The most I had
ever run were 10K road races and I had always wanted to do our marathon,
? he stated.
“Here the practical way to assist the Hospice
and the personal ambition to complete the marathon dovetailed.
Training
“So I started
training with the Raheny 5-mile road race in January and did the Calcutta Run
in May, and by July I had run 20 miles non stop.
“I know
that things are very difficult for so very many people, but I am appealing to
you to help me to assist the Hospice to make up the shortfall in funding.
?
Sponsor
Cllr Brabazon
added:
“If you can afford to do so I am asking you to sponsor my efforts in the
marathon.
“Please follow
the link to My Charity.ie and you can make a donation by laser or credit card.
“Alternatively you could send a cheque directly to St Francis Hospice, Raheny,
Dublin 5.”