:: press release ::

October 26, 2008

ROSS SLAMS DICKSONS RANT OVER HEALTH

East Antrim MLA Alastair Ross has called the Alliance Party’s Stuart Dickson ill informed after he blamed the DUP for cuts in nursing jobs.

Speaking from his Larne Office Mr Ross said,

“Last week the Alliance councillor Stewart Dickson blamed the DUP for the UUP Minister cutting nursing posts. Bizarre isn’t it?

Cllr Dickson asserted that it was because of the budget produced by the current First Minister Peter Robinson that these cuts were necessary. Was this the same budget that saw higher spending on health than ever before? Is this the same health budget that allocated approximately50% of additional resources to the Health Department?

There is no link between job cuts as announced by Minister McGimspey and the budget that was passed by the Assembly. All departments were directed to find efficiency savings, although the Appleby Report made it clear that this did not mean that jobs would have to go and said that significant savings could be made elsewhere in the service.

It is a shame that the Alliance Party representative is so ill informed on this issue and attempts to blame the DUP for every decision taken, even decisions taken by the Ulster Unionist Party!!”