Emmet Doyle criticism of health underinvestment cited by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín in 'Stormont not fit for purpose' claim

Last week the 'Journal' reported how the Ballyarnett representative had obtained information from the Department of Health by way of a Freedom of Information request that showed that the average number of daily beds at Altnagelvin reduced from 503 in 2010 to 339 in 2020.

This week in the Dáil Deputy Tóibín said: "If one measures the outputs of Stormont, it does not fair too well. By means of a freedom of information request, Aontú Councillor Emmet Doyle in Derry found that between 2010 and the start of the pandemic, the five parties of the Executive, including Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the DUP and the Alliance Party, cut 887 beds from the hospital services in the North. This has proven catastrophic in the teeth of Covid as patients had to be treated in hospital car parks."

Aontú Councillor Emmet Doyle blames Stormont for ICU bed deficit with sharp drop in average overall health beds over past decade

Colr. Doyle, speaking last week, had said: "Since 2010 to before the pandemic we lost 887 beds across hospitals in the health service. Altnagelvin lost 31 beds alone, whilst Belfast City and Mater hospitals lost 145 and 76 respectively.

“There is no getting away from these figures, no distraction that they can pull off to hide.”

On Wednesday his party leader said: "It is time for us to understand that Stormont is not fit for purpose and for the people of Ireland, North and South, to start working together to see how Stormont can be reformed and what comes next."