Letter: If you do not need the £600 fuel allowance then donate it to nurses

As a long time member of the Rotary Club of North Down I think of our motto, which is ‘Service above Self’.

So as the nurses and NHS is on strike because of pay and conditions, I would like to suggest that Rotarians might donate the £600 fuel allowance to them in this time of need. Other clubs, churches and many organisations, who could afford this government payment, would donate the money to our hard pressed nurses.

Another proposal to help NHS is that our politicians, who have not sat in Stormont for some two years, should give some of their salary as they have not done anything to assist them, it would only be fitting. It does not seem long ago that we were out clapping encouragement and thanks to the nurses and NHS during the Covid pandemic, yet they were only awarded a pay increase which would not even cover the cost of living or inflation.

I am aware that there are many others in need such as the teachers and schools, but the nurses are the most deserving at present. Beside, our Rotary motto another is, ‘Your Health is Your Wealth’. I hope that through your newspaper some help can be given as our government are not helping the situation anyway.

Barry Patterson, Bangor, Co Down