"It is now over a week since a request was made to Dermot Ahern for a meeting with the committee and Dundalk Town Councillors with no response to date.  Yet we had to listen to him campaigning for a replay in the soccer dispute in the name of 'fair play'.

"There is a matter of 'fair play' to be sorted in Dundalk in relation to the acute medical services, accident and emergency and intensive care unit which is also a matter of 'life and death'.

"Dermot is in the media regularly telling us about the wonderful work he does on behalf of the hospital yet he hasn't made any move to agree to a meeting for a full week.  He must know how urgent this matter is.  Surely he understood the message from the people of the town and surrounding areas at the square last Thursday week, when in the dead of winter they turned out in their thousands and thousands in support of acute services at the Louth."

"I call on Dermot Ahearn to 'get the finger out' and agree to meet to maximise the battle to retain our essential hospital services."