Face-Off On Health Cuts Battle

The Stormont Health Minister has been forced into a U-turn on taking part in an Executive 'away day'.

Michael McGimpsey has said the current decision not to exempt the health budget from further cuts is entirely political and is now set to join the top politicians at their brain-storming session today in an attempt to convince fellow ministers that the health budget should be 'ring-fenced'.

Mr McGimpsey has called for a similar government attitude to health as exists in England and Scotland, where the budget is already ring-fenced.

First Minister Peter Robinson has said that the Executive will rigorously examine its future spending during their day away.

"I think it's political. The DUP before the assembly elections said the health budget should rise 20%.

"Immediately they get elected and I'm the minister arguing there should be no rises," he said.

"We have members, for example also in Sinn Fein, who vote for those cuts and then go and protest the cuts when the cuts come along.

"I think that's gross hypocrisy and I think the people here deserve a wee bit of honesty."

However, in a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Finance and Personnel - which Peter Robisnon was in charge of before becoming First Minister - said the local health budget could not be compared to the rest of the UK as it contains the issue of public safety, the fire service and social services which are not protected or ring-fenced anywhere else.

Yesterday, Michael McGimpsey and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness were at loggerheads after the Deputy First Minister rebuked his colleague for missing the North-South Ministerial Council meeting.

The Health Minister's department said he was not expected to be there – although radiotherapy and child protection were among the items mentioned.

He said on BBC TV last night that most of the detail of the agreement was put together at preparatory meetings which the South Belfast Ulster Unionist did attend.

But Mr McGuinness said he was disappointed: "I want to put on record my disappointment that our Health Minister had not been at this meeting," he said.

"In fact, there have been quite a number of meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council that he has not attended and I think that's a mistake given that we are talking about these issues that are relevant to his department."

(BMcC/KMcA)