SDLP, Alliance weigh in on health row

Published Friday, 18 February 2011

The social development minister has distanced himself from what he calls "the aggressive behaviour" of the first and deputy first minister amid a bitter row over the deepening crisis within the health service in Northern Ireland.

SDLP minister Alex Attwood has accused Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness of attacking "those who dissent from their draft budget".

Mr McGuinness hit out at Health Minister Michael McGimpsey, who accused executive colleagues to "religiously turning a deaf ear" to the health service crisis.

Mr McGuinness said the executive "will not be lectured by the health minister", describing him as "a semi-detached member of these institutions".

Mr McGimpsey had described Stormont as a "dysfunctional executive" during a studio interview on UTV Live.

Crunch day for Health Minister and Executive next Thursday. No extra cash will probably see UUP walking from Executive. Crisis time.
UTV's Political Editor Ken Reid on Twitter (@KenReid)

Mr Attwood said: "The recent aggressive behaviour displayed by Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness towards those who dissent from their draft budget is very disturbing and is not a healthy or clever way to conduct politics.

"Those who have criticised the budget such as the SDLP, Ulster Unionist ministers and others do so because there is much to be critical of. But the reason Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness are acting in this way is because they know there is much public anger about this draft budget.

"They have settled on a strategy of attacking critical voices in order to distract from the wildly-held view that they have failed to produce a budget fit for purpose."

But Alliance Party Chief Whip Kieran McCarthy has described the behaviour of the health minister as "unacceptable".

He also challenged his party, the UUP, "to work positively in government or leave".

He said: "The current situation as regards the behaviour of the health minister is totally unacceptable. I am challenging the Ulster Unionists to be positive and help make government here work better or else leave. Government, be it voluntary or mandatory, is about constructive work and partnership. If the UUP can't cope with that they should go."

The health minister has been facing a steady flow of criticisms about the state of the health service in the region since Christmas, including x-ray backlogs and claims that patients' lives are put at risk.

He says he can no longer do the job on the money that is provided.

The Executive will meet next Thursday, followed by a budget vote on 28 February.

A final budget vote is expected on 14 March, ahead of the assembly elections on 5 May.

Comments

4 Comments

colin in londonderry wrote (460 days ago):

Michael mcgimpsey should stay in the health service. He has a lot to offer. He would make an excellent morturay attendent

Wilfred - angy to the point of insurrection! in Enniskilling wrote (460 days ago):

The draft budge the brainchild of our two dictatorial incumbent "political“ (very small "p") parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein is an absolute disgrace. It is a fudge of enormous proportions NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! Yet whilst these two self proclaimed political parties smugly strut around like smiling fat cats the rest of the Northern Ireland public - who pay their wages- will suffer from health to education to infrastructure cuts all because of the abysmal dysfunctional, better still barely functional, excuse we have for democracy here! This charade we call our government must be changed or dissolved - STORMONT, OUR ELECTED PSEUDO JOKE OF A "GOVERNMENT" IN NORTHERN IRELAND IS NOT WORKING! MLA’S - AN ACRONYM FOR A POLITICAL JOKE!

Cathy in belfast wrote (461 days ago):

How is Mr Attwood going to justify a top heavy over paid and wasteful organisation such as the NIHE. Too many idle hands. Tax payers beware

Eamonn Andrews in Belfast wrote (461 days ago):

Just reading alex attwoods statement about ofm,dfm, and how they are not being clever with their political statements. Is alex attwood saying that they should be more under handed with what they are going public with, thats what it looks like to me reading his statement, maybe just maybe alex should take a leaf out of their book, and start telling us the truth, instead of trying to score points. We the public want to hear ofm, and dfm, telling us whats happening instead of hiding things from us, as what alex attwood is sugesting. For what its worth attwood your days are numbered come election day. you and your cohorts in the sdlp, have nothing to offer the people of this country, so if you cant fall in behind the leaders, then fall out and get another job. maybe michael mcgimpsey might get ye a wee job in tescos when he starts there in the near future. a bunch of balloons or what.?