Aontú call for Daisy Hill protection and take swipe at McNulty

Aontú members from Newry and Armagh were among the delegates who spent five hours discussing issues around our health services, education, and finance, as well as the return to power sharing and what it means for people on the ground.

Sharon Loughran, Aontú’s Newry council candidate at the last election, welcomed the return of the Assembly and Executive.

Sharon said, “Now that we have elected representatives back to do the job they were paid to do for the last two years, we in Aontú will be holding them to account for how they deal with the crisis in our Health Service among other things.

“It is vital that the returning Minister for Health, Robin Swan, prioritise improving the services at Daisy Hill Hospital, end the downgrading and removal of services, and guarantee that Daisy Hill Hospital remains an acute hospital for all the community in the greater Newry, South Armagh, South Down areas.”

Liam Reichenberg, Aontú’s Slieve Gullion representative, added “the incoming Minister for Finance, Sinn Féin’s Caoimhe Archibald, must prioritise funding our health services by investing in the staff we so badly need to retain and recruit. The Health Service must take precedence when it comes to financial decisions.”

On a separate note, Mr Reichenberg added, “I was deeply disappointed to see the MLA for Newry & Armagh, Justin McNulty, leave the Assembly on Saturday to go to his second job at the other end of the country. I would have thought that the Laois County Board would understand the importance of the day the Assembly reconvened.

"Justin clearly felt it was more important to be a football manager than represent the people of Newry & Armagh. It was the wrong decision.”