Jim Wells
South Down · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. In November 1982, I made my maiden speech in the Chamber, and, here we are, 40 years later, and I am making my last speech in the Chamber as a DUP MLA. I was the last person in the Public Gallery when the Assembly collapsed in 1976.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence and for your patience with me over many years. Unfortunately, Mr McGlone has just left the Chamber; I was about to thank him. I have enjoyed my 27 and a half years in this Building.”
“I wish that I could, but I have only five minutes. <BR /> <BR />That was so that a very small number of Irish language zealots could go in and register their marriage or civil partnership in Irish or in dual language: £261,000. Did anybody stop to think about whether there was a more cost-effective way of doing that?”
“We are all perfectly happy with a genuine expression of people's culture. That is fine. However, when the language is so cynically used by militant republicanism, unionism has difficulties. Why, for instance, is there no translation into Irish of the words, "United Kingdom", "Londonderry", "Northern Ireland" or "Her Majesty The Queen"?”
“The Member has made the point for me. The official who came to the Committee made it absolutely clear that £261,000 had been spent already. It was farcical to bring that before either the Finance Committee or the Assembly, because the money had been spent and the processes had been set up.”
“If they want the unionist community to accept the Irish language as a genuine cultural expression, they should get rid of the political baggage and extremism, and stop using the Irish language as a political weapon to try to subjugate unionism.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,869 lines we hold for Jim Wells, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 37 of 38.
“As Members will recall, on 9 December 2013, my predecessor, Mr Poots, made a statement to the Assembly announcing that, in conjunction with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, he had appointed a team of international clinicians to provide an assessment of the optimal model for a cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology service for congenital heart disease to meet the respective needs of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The international working group (IWG) was chaired by Dr John Mayer, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and senior associate in cardiac surgery at Boston Children's Hospital.”
“<BR /> <BR />In the coming weeks, specific allocations to front line services will be made to the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), the Public Health Agency (PHA) and the trusts to reflect my ministerial priorities and the pressures being experienced in local areas. I will then expect the trusts to break even and be accountable to me, the Assembly and the public for the performance standards that I set. <BR /> <BR />I will turn now to another very important issue, that of paediatric congenital cardiac services.”
“The funds will also mean that the cath labs in Altnagelvin can continue to operate a vital 24/7 service as planned, and that some further support can be provided to the voluntary and community sector and the Family Fund. <BR /> <BR />For mental health and learning disability, 116 clients will benefit from being resettled into the community, and hence be able to access the facilities that we have planned for them. I am also able to provide further support to drive forward important elements of reform under the Transforming Your Care agenda, allowing integrated care partnerships to make further progress and ensuring that there is a greater equity in reformed services across Northern Ireland.”
“I particularly want to ensure that unscheduled care and patient flow is supported to reduce the number of breaches of the emergency department waiting time standards, including through the challenging winter period. This includes ensuring that existing domiciliary care packages are maintained and that some new care packages can also be provided. <BR /> <BR />I also intend to provide support to enable National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) drugs and treatments to continue to be provided, which will mean that patients can benefit from specialist treatments without considerable extension of waiting times. I know that the Chair of the Health Committee will welcome the next part of my statement: investment will be made in the Altnagelvin radiotherapy centre during 2014-15 so that it can be opened as intended in 2016.”
“I believe that this is a necessary measure, given the extent of financial constraints, but it should be applied consistently across all areas of the public sector, and not restricted to one element of the workforce. I strongly advocate that any pay restraint imposed on health and social care workers should be consistent with those applied in other public sector organisations. <BR /> <BR />On the more positive side, the additional £80 million will fund a wide range of existing expenditure commitments and allow further new investments to proceed. I will allocate the funding to those areas that minimise the worst of the consequences on front line patient care, thus addressing the serious concerns previously raised by the Chief Medical Officer.”
“<BR /> <BR />Whilst some further investment in elective care will be possible, this will be much less than the full extent of the pressure, and that means that the current restrictions on the use of the independent sector will have to continue. I assure you, however, that those patients with existing appointments in the independent sector will be treated. All other patients will be treated within the local trusts in priority order, but, inevitably, this increased pressure on trusts will lead to longer waiting times. <BR /> <BR />The extent of the pressure on my budget means that I will have no option but to impose further cuts in other areas, including departmental arm's-length bodies, my Department's administrative costs and pharmacy spending. There has been further discussion in recent days about restraint on wider public sector pay.”
“Indeed, if we had obtained that £87 million, we would be extremely happy. Even our share of that £87 million would have been very welcome. <BR /> <BR />I assure you that my priority is that the services that we provide must be safe and effective for all the patients that they serve. Unfortunately, that may mean that some services will need to be reviewed, and that, in some cases, opening times may need to be restricted. Indeed, some services may need to cease altogether, based, of course, on the views of clinicians on safe staffing levels. However, with the additional funding that is being made available, I expect trusts to avoid the worst of these consequences and to minimise any reductions in the use of agency and bank nurses, social workers and locum doctors.”
“It is a significant investment, but it is disappointing that £87 million is being handed back to the Treasury for welfare reform penalties rather than being invested in local health and social care. This approach means that I will not be able to take forward many of the plans that would have improved health and social care services and the outcomes for the Northern Ireland population.”
“The pressures are in a wide range of areas, including children's services, the quality and safety of services, elective care and unscheduled care, and they reflect the increasing demands on health and social care and the technological and treatment advances that can now be provided. These unfunded pressures are despite my Department having delivered efficiency savings of £490 million over the last three years. Indeed, a further £170 million is planned for delivery in the current financial year. <BR /> <BR />My Department made significant monitoring round bids in June and October 2014. The Executive and the Health Committee were advised that additional funding needed to be found to avoid the worst consequences for patients and clients in Northern Ireland. I very much welcome the £80 million that is being made available.”
“That was on top of the conditional allocation of £20 million, which was from the June monitoring round. <BR /> <BR />Whilst £80 million is most welcome, there are still consequences for the provision of health and social care services as it is simply not possible to maintain current levels of service provision in the absence of all the required levels of funding. This statement updates the House on the implications of the October monitoring round for my Department. <BR /> <BR />The Executive, the Health Committee and the Assembly are well aware that my Department has experienced significant financial pressures, notably since autumn 2013, and these have yet to be resolved.”
“I am very glad to have this opportunity to make a statement to the Assembly on two hugely important matters for health and social care services: first, the outcome of the October monitoring round for my Department, and, secondly, the report of the international working group on paediatric congenital cardiac services (PCCS). <BR /> <BR />Since I have been in office, there have been a number of challenging issues to address. This statement deals with two of them: the financial position for 2014-15 and paediatric congenital cardiac services. <BR /> <BR />As the Assembly is aware, the Executive reached agreement last Thursday on the October monitoring round for 2014-15. As part of that agreement, my Department received an additional allocation of £60 million.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will, of course, provide a more detailed response to the Committee in due course, once I have had an opportunity to consider how best to implement the recommendations.”
“Similarly, I am keen to ensure that information promoting the schemes is widely used — many Members raised the issue of the lack of awareness — to make certain that older people will have an opportunity to make properly informed decisions about what best meets their particular needs. <BR /> <BR />Some of the facilities have not filled as quickly as we might have expected, and Mr McKinney raised that point. That presents difficulties for our partners. We need to understand the reasons for that so that we can put measures in place to prevent underoccupancy. The Committee’s report highlighted those issues along with others, and it makes 11 very helpful recommendations.”
“At present, 33 of the 35 places have been allocated, and so I think that the concerns that he raised about the Enniskillen situation do not apply to that facility. <BR /> <BR />I am aware, however, that some issues surrounding the concept of supported living will need further work. The question of definition, for example, is an important one, as I mentioned earlier, and I am clear that more work needs to be done to clarify exactly what we refer to when talking about supported living. <BR /> <BR />That is important, because people need to be clear about the options available to them when making decisions about their care and support.”
“They will improve the range of choices available to our older people if and when they reach the stage in their lives when they need purpose-built accommodation with person-centred care services as part of the package. <BR /> <BR />We have already seen examples of how supported living schemes can be a success. Barn Halt Cottages in Carrickfergus, for example, have been providing state-of-the-art accommodation and care services for a number of years. More recently, the Belfast Trust, in conjunction with the Department for Social Development and Helm Housing Association, has transformed the site of the former statutory residential home on the Shankill Road into a purpose-built supported living facility. Hemsworth Court is providing care and support in the heart of the community. Mr McKinney raised the issue of allocations in Hemsworth Court.”
“Self-directed support services offer service users and carers greater flexibility and independence by enabling them to tailor their support package to their individual needs. Also, assistive technology, such as Telemonitoring Northern Ireland, helps to support people, including older people, with chronic conditions at home. <BR /> <BR />Housing adaptations can help people to remain independent in their own home. Following a consultation last year, officials from my Department are working collaboratively with DSD officials to draft a final review report and associated action plan on housing adaptations built around the theme of home as the hub of care. Of course, supported living services are a key component underpinning the strategic concept of the home as the hub.”
“As the honourable member knows, particularly in the Southern Trust, we are in a process of re-enablement, which has often removed the need for community meals. Those services involve working for a limited period, typically two to six weeks, with individuals whose independence is at risk. They are supported to learn and re-learn skills necessary for daily living to rebuild their confidence and promote their social inclusion. The goal is a level of independence that will allow either discharge requiring no service or reduced services on an ongoing basis. Re-enablement services are being rolled out across Northern Ireland, with three of the five health and social care trusts already providing full coverage for their area.”
“Yes, I accept that older people living on their own with domiciliary care may not always be the preferred choice, although for the vast majority of people it is. Of course, I have experience of places like Cedar Court, which the Member mentioned, and St Paul's in Lisburn, which provide, I believe, the best of both worlds: the privacy of having your own front door and the ability to meet people with similar interests and have companionship. We must be prepared to give people choice, and if the choice is domiciliary care, we are investing a huge amount of money — £160 million — in that.”
“Domiciliary care, the provision of personal care in a person's own home, is the main service used to help people to maintain their independence. The most recent statistics indicate that over 25,000 people in Northern Ireland are being supported to live at home by domiciliary care services, and the HSC is investing in the region of £160 million per year on domiciliary care services for older people. It is a significant part of the overall departmental budget.”
“We have to be very clear that this is something that will affect every one of us and our families at some point in the future. <BR /> <BR />There is already a wide range of community-based services in place that contribute to supporting people to maintain their independence in their homes. I do accept the point about definition. Under the definition that I have, there are 414 institutions looking after the needs of 10,000 people, but I accept that we need to refine the definition of that type of care.”
“Indeed, I was calculating that I will fall into the category of being part of that ageing population by the time that those dates arrive. It does have profound implications for our health and social services. <BR /> <BR />Regardless of who the Health Minister might be during future Assembly tenures, the amount of resources available to them will always be finite, so we must look to reform our services and the way in which we deliver them. It is vital that we take steps now to redesign our services so that people are supported to live longer and to live well in the heart of our communities. Only by doing this will we be able to provide the quality services that our older people are entitled to, both now and in years to come.”
“The logic of this will inevitably mean a corresponding reduction in the dependence on residential care. <BR /> <BR />I do not intend to get into the whole debate this evening on the residential care home issue. There will be many further opportunities to deal with that, but there is no doubt that many people would prefer to live in some form of supported living than in residential care. In fact, TYC made specific reference to reducing our stock of statutory residential homes, which prompts us to find better and more effective ways of providing care to our ageing population. I will not rehash all the demographic information, but I noticed that Mrs Cameron and several other Members quoted the very significant statistics on how we are going to become a more ageing population.”
“<BR /> <BR />We know that everyone wants to stay in their own homes, with support if necessary, for as long as they possibly can. Older people have been telling us this for years, and, indeed, one of my Department's key priorities is to ensure, wherever possible, that people are helped to maintain their independence in their own home, whether that is in a supported living environment or in their own personal home. I believe that that is vitally important. <BR /> <BR />Of course, everyone should have a choice about where they live, and, if they need help to look after their personal care, they must have a say in how those needs are met. Transforming Your Care underpinned this policy, and part of its vision was the key principle that the home should be the hub of care for older people. Many Members made that very important point.”
“Thank you very much, Mr McKinney. I have forgiven you for that. I noticed that, when Mr Poots was made Health Minister, everyone welcomed him to the position, so I think that that bodes badly for me in the future. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Chair of the Health Committee for tabling the motion on this very important issue, and I very much welcome the Committee's review of supported living for older people in the context of Transforming Your Care. I have to say that I have to express the most sizeable of interests on this since I sat on the Committee throughout the formulation of this report and the hearings and agreed the report. Therefore, I have an interest to declare, but I hope that I can be a bit more detached now that I have moved from the Committee.”
“I am told that I am not allowed to name them, but they know who they are, and they are an outstanding team. I also thank those who have welcomed me to this position, all three of you. I noticed that the Chair and many long-serving members of the Committee did not deem it worth their while to welcome me. Mr McCarthy, Mr Brady and Mr Robinson, I thank you.”
“Secondly, my first 20 days in this job, which have been the most intense of my life, have given me an indication of the wonderful work carried out by my predecessor, Edwin Poots. I have nothing but admiration for his time in office and for the workload that he encountered and the decisions that he took. I feel very proud to step into Edwin Poots's shoes, and certainly I have nothing but praise for what I have witnessed both from the inside and the outside. <BR /> <BR />I also thank the members of the Committee. I had five years, two months and 14 days on the Committee, not that I was counting, and I enjoyed enormously my roles as Chair and Deputy Chair and the outstanding work of the staff of that Committee, who, in my opinion, were the top team in this Building when it came to servicing a Committee.”
“So, I had 17 minutes' warning that I would go from being a non-entity of an obscure Back-Bencher, which had been my lot for the previous 20 years, to becoming Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. If I am surprised I am here, then, no doubt, most people in the Chamber will be equally surprised. I make that point for two reasons. First, I do not have all the answers. Therefore, in respect of several of the points raised, I may refer the Members back to the experts who will respond in writing through me.”
“Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, it was a dull, quiet and somewhat unusually boring afternoon in this Building 20 days ago: I was at a meeting on the second floor; I looked at my phone, which I had checked half an hour earlier, and noticed that there were 14 missed calls. I then noticed that all of them were from the office of the First Minister. My immediate thoughts were that I was in very big trouble or that something significant was happening. So, I made my way down to the First Minister's office, and he asked me to take on this portfolio. After having said yes, I casually asked him, "When do I start?" He said, "In 15 minutes' time". <BR /> <BR />When you, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker, adjourned the Assembly, I was to go round to your office and sign the declaration of office.”
“I thank the Member. I note that he is the only member of the Committee to welcome me to this position. I think that bodes badly for future debates. Thank you very much. I was not expecting that. It is much appreciated.”
“Does the Member accept that 80% of all those in the world who are persecuted for religious motivation are Christians, that we need to do more than simply make our voice heard and that we cannot stand by as we did in Rwanda and Cambodia and let this happen? The action that was taken last night has to be right. We have to take military action to prevent the loss of tens of thousands more lives, Christian and non-Christian.”
“The Arab Muslim population and the Christian population have prospered in Israel. That is the only state where people are allowed to practise their religious values without fear. Indeed, article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that everyone should have the right not only to practise religious observance but to change their religion. That is denied in many Arab states. I hope that the House will join me in supporting those minorities that are suffering so much in the Middle East.”
“Now is the time for Britain to join the coalition of the Arab states that oppose the brutality. This has implications way beyond the shores of Syria and Iraq. The reality is that this militant organisation has made it clear that, once it establishes its Islamic state in Syria and Iraq, it is going to take its Islamic war much further and inflict more brutal attacks on the West. Therefore, we have a selfish interest as well as a humanitarian interest in doing something about this awful situation. <BR /> <BR />We cannot stand by and watch the eradication of the Christian community from the Middle East, which is what is happening. The irony is that there is only one Middle East state where the number of Christians has multiplied phenomenally in the last 60 years: Israel.”
“<BR /> <BR />I welcome the fact that the Department for International Development (DFID), the aid agency for Her Majesty's Government, has given £500 million of aid to Syria. Of course, many Christians will benefit from that. However, we have to remember that, in Syria, 130,000 people have already died. That is how serious the situation is. We need to do more. What happened last night is the step that is required. I know that there are huge difficulties in this House and the House of Commons about direct military intervention in the Middle East. We all have seen what has happened in Afghanistan, Lebanon and, of course, more recently in Iraq. It is a terribly difficult situation, but we have shown in Libya that we do not have to have feet on the ground in those countries to bring about regime change and an improvement in human rights.”
“When we get to the situation where one of the most brutal terrorist organisations in the world is embarrassed by how Christians are being treated, something is certainly going dramatically wrong. <BR /> <BR />People ask, "What should we do?". We should not do what we did in Cambodia in 1975 to 79, where the West sat on the sidelines and an estimated 1·3 million to 3 million people were murdered in the most brutal way by the Pol Pot regime. More latterly, in Rwanda, in 1994, the West, including us, stood to the side and allowed 800,000 Tutsis to be hacked to death. The lesson has been shown that, if we simply stand on the sidelines, it will inevitably lead to a situation where there will be more death and persecution.”
“There seems to be no room whatsoever in that state for anyone who does not follow the Muslim faith. Therefore, there is a real risk that, within our lifetimes, the entire Christian population of both countries will be driven from Syria and Iraq. People may say that that is an exaggeration. When one considers that there used to be a vibrant Jewish community in both countries, and that now it is estimated that there are fewer than 50 Jews living in Syria and Iraq combined, that gives you an indication of what can happen when things go terribly wrong. <BR /> <BR />The militants are engaged in tactics and persecution that I simply cannot repeat in the House. They are brutal in the extreme. Indeed, they are so brutal that even al-Qaeda is embarrassed by their savagery.”
“Within the term of this Assembly, there has been a massive loss of the Christian population in those two countries. <BR /> <BR />If that was bleak, the arrival of ISIS on the scene has made matters even worse. ISIS identifies the Christian community as having the same religious faith as what it sees as the Western oppressors. That oppression and victimisation of Christians has moved on to a terrible and even more sinister level. For instance, there are some towns now in Iraq from which the entire Christian population has fled. ISIS has made it very clear that it wishes to form an Islamic state — a caliphate — that will encompass large parts of Iraq and Syria. Unfortunately, that caliphate already covers an area the size of England, Scotland and Wales.”
“Unfortunately, we do not know what has happened to them and fear the worst. <BR /> <BR />In Baghdad, for instance, in 1995, there was a Roman Catholic cathedral that had 1,500 families registered. Unfortunately, by 2014, that was down to 120. So, there has been a mass movement of people; there has been persecution; and there have been deaths. Why that has happened, of course, is that these strong, brutal regimes have managed to keep under control militant Islam. It is very much like the Yugoslavia situation with Tito. Tito managed to keep under brutal control the various ethnic minorities within what was then Yugoslavia. Once he died, there was an explosion of ethnic tension, and we all know the issues of places such as Srebrenica, where there was mass genocide. Unfortunately, the same situation is being repeated before our eyes.”
“Census returns in Iraq in 1987 indicated that there were 1·4 million Christians in Iraq, and now that population is down to an estimated 400,000, of which 284,000 are from the Roman Catholic faith. <BR /> <BR />By any indication, that is an extremely worrying and dramatic change. Indeed, what makes this very sad is that a large number of those Christians who left Iraq in fear of their life went to Syria, where, unfortunately, they have encountered very brutal death, terror and persecution. In Syria, it is reckoned that at least 450,000 to 600,000 people have fled and that 600 people have been martyred for their faith. Two senior Christian bishops — in a UK situation, I understand that they would be the equivalent of the Bishop of Liverpool and the Bishop of Manchester — have been kidnapped.”
“That is because what has been going on in those two countries has been extremely worrying. <BR /> <BR />Speaking personally, I initially tabled the motion in response to concerns expressed by a constituent from Newcastle, and I decided to do a bit of research. I have to say that I found looking at what is going on to the Christian and, indeed, other minorities in those two countries to be the most depressing time that I have ever had in the Assembly. I read things about what is happening to this persecuted minority that, frankly, I cannot repeat in the Assembly because they are so distressing. The result of that is that Syria has gone from a situation where there were 1·5 million Christians a matter of a few years ago to a situation where it is down to, perhaps, fewer than 300,000. A similar situation has happened in Iraq.”
“The irony is that under brutal dictators, such as the Saddam Hussein and the Assad regimes, Christianity was largely untouched by militant Islam. Right up until 2011, the Barnabas aid report stated that Syria was one of the freest places to be a Christian in the Middle East, and Syria had a Christian population of 1·5 million. Equally, in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, Christians largely prospered. Indeed, many of us will remember that the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Saddam Hussein regime was a Christian. Things, unfortunately, have changed, and changed dramatically. <BR /> <BR />As my colleague Jim Shannon, the Member for Strangford in another place, said:”
“Overnight, announcements have been made that a coalition of forces — Arab states and the United States — has initiated bombing campaigns in Syria to attack the citadels of ISIS. That is quite a dramatic development, and many of us believe that it has not come soon enough. <BR /> <BR />For centuries, Iraq and Syria have been heartlands of Christianity. Indeed, many of us believe that the stories recounted in much of scripture were in areas that are now present day Syria and Iraq. Many believe, for instance, that the Garden of Eden was in Mesopotamia, which, of course, is the area between the Tigris and Euphrates, and we all know of the Damascus road experience of Paul, his conversion, which led to a strong and vibrant Christian community in that country. <BR /> <BR />Until recently, both countries had a strong Christian minority.”
“When I tabled the motion, I had no idea how timely it was to become.”
“Does the Member accept that, although Mr McCartney talked about scaremongering, the Minister never raised an issue of funding in the first three years of his tenure? It was challenging, but he was able to deliver. It is only more recently that things have become more difficult. There has not been a running to the Minister of Finance until recently. Four years ago, Mr McGimpsey was constantly whingeing about a lack of money when, in fact, there was at least £490 million of savings still to be made.”
“He went up to Altnagelvin that day and reversed the decision, so that is the Department's level of commitment to Londonderry. I think that we are being a little bit naive in criticising him for that. <BR /> <BR />This is a difficult issue. As an Assembly, the best thing that we can do is not to pick off individual projects that we are concerned about but to lobby together for adequate resources to be given to health so that Mr Poots and the Department can deliver an adequate service.”
“<BR /> <BR />We all hope and pray that we will be able to find the money to deal with these issues. The Altnagelvin radiotherapy unit is an excellent unit, and we should give it full support. The honourable Member for Foyle said that, several weeks after he came into post, the Minister committed himself to reversing Mr McGimpsey's decision. He did not; he did it on his first day in office.”
“<BR /> <BR />Let us not underestimate for one minute how hard the trusts are working to achieve that. Five hundred and sixty million pounds' worth of savings have been achieved. We will find that the cumulative effect of this will have a very difficult and deleterious effect on health, and we have not even considered the issue of welfare reform. People say that welfare reform is not related to this. This year, we are handing back £87 million to the Exchequer in London. If that £87 million were passed over to the Health Department in the monitoring round, it would go a very, very long way to deal with this issue, including Altnagelvin. We have to look forward and think that things are going to get much more difficult if we do not resolve this issue.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also accept that the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) unit is an excellent facility, but similar problems arise with it. It is unfortunate that both facilities are based in Londonderry; I can understand the concerns of the representatives for that area. Remember, however, that this is a Minister who has already delivered £490 million of savings in his three years in office. That is an incredible achievement and, of course, is more than the annual budget of three of our Departments put together. That has been achieved, and there is a further commitment of £170 million for the present financial year. That £170 million is going to be extremely demanding of the five health trusts, plus, of course, the Ambulance Service.”
“I accept entirely that, had the Executive in their wisdom decided to give the Minister the money that everybody accepts he needs, we would not be in this position. As you know, however, a lot of horse trading went on, and many people went into denial and did not give the money that was required. Having made that decision, we will have to live with the consequences. The Minister is not going to hijack or ambush Members; he is going to say it as it absolutely is and tell all 108 MLAs what the implications are for their area if we do not provide adequate funding for health. That is the open and honest way of doing it rather than letting us drift through the financial year and suddenly finding that we have not sufficient money and that services start to deteriorate.”
“Everyone accepts that we need extra money, but so much of the budget is tied up in salaries, wages, national insurance and pensions, and in contracts — if he tried to get out of those, we would be straight into court — that the actual amount of money available to make the cuts is relatively small as an overall part of the budget. Therefore the Minister has to find options that may not be the most desirable but which are the most deliverable. Unfortunately, that means areas of expenditure where we are not committed legally to deliver, and Altnagelvin —”
“So, I do not think that the Western Trust representatives here this afternoon can complain about a lack of commitment to their area. Indeed, many of us in other parts of Northern Ireland feel somewhat envious of the new capital build in that trust area. The capital for the new radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin is, of course, committed. However, the problem is that there are considerable costs in the manning of the unit — and I use "manning" in the widest possible term, because I am sure that some of the staff will be ladies. That is going to be very challenging, and we have to accept that it will cause great difficulties. <BR /> <BR />The Minister finds himself in a very difficult position. No one in the Chamber has contested the fact that he needs the extra £160 million.”