Limerick Fine Gael general election candidate says ‘caring is a seven-day job'
Cllr Stokes critical of those who call in sick
FINE Gael general election candidate, Cllr Noreen Stokes has bemoaned what she feels is a culture of people working in the care sector calling in sick.
The Limerick County hopeful says, if elected to Dail Eireann, care of the elderly will be among her priorities.
She has spent much of her career in the care profession, and during Covid-19 responded to an appeal on health professionals to return to work, spending time back in a nursing home.
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“I feel that carers when they go into the profession need to realise it is a seven-days-a-week job. We are in a society where some people have no problem ringing up in the morning saying they are sick and not showing up. It puts an extra burden on the people who do go to work,” she said.
Since being added to Fine Gael’s county ticket alongside Minister Patrick O’Donovan, Cllr Stokes has continued to visit Men’s Sheds and women’s groups.
“I am like their mini Citizens Advice Bureau. I bring application forms to them, anything I feel might be useful. We have our chats, we have our cups of tea - they all know I love my cups of tea,” the Cappamore-Kilmallock councillor laughed.