Monthly Archives: January 2018

According to the BBC, in one instance, the overpayment was more than £70,000. In half the cases, payments were as low as £50. Forty farmers are believed to have received as much as £10,000. The Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland said it “regrets” the mistake but new procedures mean it “won’t happen again”. Parliamentary reports show first speaker only – follow this lnk for the full transcription. Articles may come from parliamentary reports, various public news feeds and Google News Search. Content is republished here for context. Copyright is respected and remains with the original author at all times. Original Article:https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/agri-business/almost-80k-overpaid-to-northern-ireland-farmer-wont-be-recouped-department-36408734.html

Sinn Fein allowing “a disagreement about Irish language legislation” to hamper key reforms in our hospitals has been described as “madness,” by the DUP’s Paula Bradley. North Belfast MLA Ms Bradley said the “blame game” over the ongoing political stalemate was irrelevant to those being treated on trollies in the corridors of over-stretched hospitals. “Providing excellent care for sick people requires reform of how services are delivered,” she said. “Bengoa was a road map to developing a more modern, caring and efficient service. Those key reforms are now sitting on the shelf gathering dust. 2017 was entirely lost as an opportunity to advance vital reforms. “Michelle O’Neill cannot walk away from this failure and wasted opportunity. As the [Sinn Fein] minister when Bengoa was finalised, Ms O’Neill was fully briefed of the need, yet she prioritised an Irish language act over those reforms. Was she just running away from taking … Continue reading →

<!– –> STORMONT must be restored to tackle the crisis in the health service, Sinn Féin’s northern leader Michelle O’Neill has said. Ms O’Neill, who was health minister before Stormont collapsed in January last year, said the service was “on its knees”. Speaking after revelations a patient was forced to wait 49 hours in AE over the Christmas period, Ms O’Neill said the health service must be reformed and the recommendations of her Delivering Together plan, which was announced before the collapse of power-sharing, must be implemented. “For the first time ever I was able to secure political consensus for the plan. All parties need to stay focused on the plan instead of using the current political impasse to score political points,” she said. Ms O’Neill accused other parties of “using the health service as a political football”. “So I’m appealing to all parties to support the continued transformation of … Continue reading →

<!– –> STORMONT must be restored to tackle the crisis in the health service, Sinn Féin’s northern leader Michelle O’Neill has said. Ms O’Neill, who was health minister before Stormont collapsed in January last year, said the service was “on its knees”. Speaking after revelations a patient was forced to wait 49 hours in AE over the Christmas period, Ms O’Neill said the health service must be reformed and the recommendations of her Delivering Together plan, which was announced before the collapse of power-sharing, must be implemented. “For the first time ever I was able to secure political consensus for the plan. All parties need to stay focused on the plan instead of using the current political impasse to score political points,” she said. Ms O’Neill accused other parties of “using the health service as a political football”. “So I’m appealing to all parties to support the continued transformation of … Continue reading →