Debate contribution: Executive Collapse: Health Services
Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 12 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Executive Collapse: Health Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5786353
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his point. It is a point that I have made many times regardless of the portfolio that I have held. It is inarguable that political dysfunction and not being financed appropriately is a recipe for disaster. Last week, we had Professor Bengoa with us. While, in public and private conversations, Professor Bengoa said that we have made progress and that he understands the impact of COVID, for instance, he also recognised the impact of the failure to have leadership from the Department for five years. There are green shoots, there is potential, and we have a plan, but we need leadership, whether that is from me as Health Minister for the next six months or from someone else who picks it up in April. We have learnt from the failures of our recent past, and there are many in the Chamber who served during that time. We did work on the mental health strategy and on suicide prevention, and you sat with me on many of the all-party groups. We put our shoulder to all those things, but, unfortunately, we are years behind on delivery, and we have to cherry-pick what we do because we do not have enough resource. These things are also impacted on by our workforce. We have 6,500 vacancies across the health and social care sector. My Department is working at pace to better understand that and develop a workforce policy that delivers for the future. However, it requires us to make mature decisions around budgets. Health does not happen just in the Health Department; it happens in Communities, Education, Justice — it happens across the piece. That is why we need the Executive to speak the same language on those priorities.
291 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Awaiting analysis
This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.