Sinn Féin have expressed concern over Northern Irish health minister Robin Swann’s request for British military assistance to distribute life-saving equipment.
Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann signed off on a request on Friday for military support distributing life-saving equipment and assistance a temporary field hospital.
“This weekend I have now approved two decisions to activate the Military Aid to Civil Authorities process. The MoD and our Armed Forces have a wealth of talent, expertise and resource that I believe could and should now be utilised to help our collective fight against Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.
I believe the army’s skills and logistical expertise could assist with the redistribution of essential life-saving equipment across Northern Ireland to ensure that all hospitals have the materials and resources required to fully enact their surge plans. I’ve also decided that the MoD could assist with the possible development of a further temporary Nightingale facility in the event of an extreme surge of Covid-19 patients.
My number one priority right now is to save lives and protect those of the staff on the front line. I believe the time has now come that the MoD can help me with that. I hope the decision is approved and is widely supported. It shouldn’t be considered divisive, especially as I have said a number of times over recent weeks that at the end of this pandemic there will be only one thing that divides us – and that is those of us that are still alive and those that have sadly passed away.”
Sinn Féin Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill said in a statement:
“I have been informed that the Minister for Health Robin Swann has unilaterally and without consultation with Executive colleagues requested limited assistance from the British Army. Sinn Féin has made it clear we will not rule out any measure necessary to save lives, protect the public and tackle the spread of Coronavirus.
However, no proposal to use British military personnel in the north for roles normally performed by civilians has come before the Executive. I have raised the sensitivities of British military intervention directly with the British Secretary of State Brandon Lewis. The health minister has a responsibility to exhaust all options, including the use of other blue light public services and civilian contractors, to ensure that ventilators and life saving equipment are moved swiftly to where they are needed most. The Department for Health has already contracted a local civilian contractor to scope out building a HSC-led civilian ‘field hospital’.
It remains Sinn Féin’s position that any proposed new Nightingale hospital should remain under the care and control of the HSC. Sinn Féin is seeking an urgent meeting with the health minister, on his failure to consult ministerial colleagues at yesterday’s Executive meeting. We will also be seeking meetings with the British Secretary of State, the Tanáiste and the PSNI given the seriousness of a decision to bring in the British military.”
The effort from the British armed forces would come under of Operation Rescript. Operation Rescript is a military operation to assist the UK’s efforts to tackle the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom.
In March, the Ministry of Defence announced the formation of the COVID Support Force as part of its measures to help tackle the Coronavirus outbreak. The support force comprised 20,000 military personnel tasked with supporting public services, which included 150 military personnel being trained to drive oxygen tankers to support the National Health Service.
So far, British military personnel have been delivering vital equipment, including oxygen, PPE and ventilators, to hospitals and facilities around the UK in addition to setting up temporary field hospitals to deal with Coronavirus.
British Army personnel have also been assisting with the testing of NHS staff in Glasgow for the virus.
The COVID Support Force includes 10 regional commands which are overseen from Aldershot. In April, an additional 3,000 reservist personnel joined the COVID Support Force.
Last time I was in NI one of my cousins lamented to me at a family dinner that there would never be peace in Northern Ireland. At the time I thought her unnecessarily pessimistic but reading the above I am now inclined to agree with her. With Sinn Fein sharing power in NI and possibly also the ROI there will never be reconciliation in Ireland. I bet SF would be happy to accept help from the ROI or Putin! Well done British Army and well done to the RAF for policing the skies of our good neighbour to the south,… Read more »
A friend of mine from NI put it to me as…
They have just learned to tolerate each other a bit more.
As for SF they should hang their heads in shame and everyone who voted for this scum should realise all they are interested in is divisive politics not the welfare of those they pretend to represent.
Their comment about using couriers and other emergency services rather than the army highlights how much they know what’s really going on.
Indeed Colin. I am and will die British and would never want to see NI leave the UK-not for any religious or ideological reason but simply because that is my heritage. If Sinn Fein were to try a little love and tolerance ironically they would do more for their drive for a united Ireland than all the bitterness and hatred in the world
So presumably you think that relinquishing all our other colonies was a great shame?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say, yes! Many years ago I spoke to my late Grandfather about the collapse of the Empire and what followed. He served in East Asia and in particular Burma. Following the war he was tasked with policing in Burma up to the late 40’s prior to independence. He said the country after war was in a real sh** state and required significant rebuilding. It should never have been given complete independence. The reason for this was due to the inherent tribalism, but also the significant religious differences between the various tribal… Read more »
That’s easy. I wouldn’t have invaded in the first place.
I’ll think you’ll find our country did not directly invade Burma/Myanmar. It was the then Burmese ruling class ordering raids on the Eastern part of India, that started the first Burmese war. The East India Company was paid to police the border of what is now Bangladesh. Because the raids were getting more frequent, organised and larger, the Government stepped in. This kicked off the Burmese war, initially it was supposed to stop the raids, but it turned into a full invasion, when it appeared the French were trying to influence the Burmese. The war was then more about expanding… Read more »
I was of course referring to Ireland as I suspect you knew. With regard to the East India Company weren’t they just a bunch of greedy capitalists who didn’t care about the lives of others as long as they made money.
Republican by any chance?
Ulster will always be British mate…… sorry to rain on your parade.
Wow, it took you a whole month to think up that response. You’re not in the intelligence service are you by any chance?
Paul If you want to go back that far in history..800 years ago, by using your premise, invasion, colonies etc. What is your view when the Normans invaded Great Britain? Or the Europeans who virtually wiping out the ‘first generation tribes’ in North America and to complicate the issue. The Irish who fled because of the ‘oppression’ in their country went on to become the oppressors in NA. Just another wee fact, Dublin city was founded by the Vikings, who at that time were one of the most aggressive invaders from Europe. Basically history is complicated and it’s not always… Read more »
For them you mean? A reform of British attitudes and continuied membership of the empires trading block would have left them in a much better position.
Mrs Trellis of Llandudno says ‘ utterly disgraceful, who do these people think they are’? 🙂
Mrs Trellis of Llandudno needs to have banged out a couple of tours there and she would know! Opinions are forged by experience! Did you get that hoovering done as per instructions from Mrs H? Stay safe….Brex….nope I won’t say it ?
Hello folks hope all are well.
Well this is just typical of Sinn Fein, to rant at a time like this. I suppose if unfortunately one or more Sinn Fein members become unwell , they would refuse help that is supported by UK military.
No logical or practical answers, just protest at anything as long as it is anti British. SNP are very similar in protests, although not on Covid issues… Yet!
Cheers
George
Indeed George. All the best
SF will use any opportunity they can to divide, but what a time to moan about the Millitary when our millitary is supplying gear to the dying and sick and there’s a chance they could catch and die from it is nothing less than criminal! There’s a time for politics.
Hope you and your family are all well George , same goes to everyone on here.???
Wouldn’t be surprised if Corbyn was in on this!
I’d be amazed if he was – and I’m no Corbyn supporter.
Has the fingerprints of the Labour Party all over it. On the other hand it was probably Mrs Trellis of Llandudno who doesn’t bang anything….how vulgar!
Hopefully people remember that the party put politics over dealing with the Coronavirus and it bits them in the arse. Pretty much every other party has set it all aside for now, I’m sure once the dust has settled there will be political post mortem’s by opposition parties around the world but for now they’re playing nicely and just getting on with things.
Of course the terrorist sympathisers don’t want the British army there.
Too true mate but unfortunately for them…… Ulster is British and always will be. ??✌️✌️
I wonder if michelle o’neill would refuse a ventilator / medical help being transported by the british army if it was for one of her family, she should be ashamed of herself and should step down from office for putting party politics before common sense
SF being SF, they also held one of their normal funeral marches during this. Part of this I think is that they are likely to be locked out of Government in the Republic as well.
That being said given the nature of Stormont, Swann should have given a heads up to the executive that he was doing this.
It is a bit silly SF reacting like this, but then again their whole nature to exist as a party is to get a united ireland, like SNP is to get an independent Scotland, so they have to play to their voters.
However, like you say Mark, with things so sensitive in NI, putting it to the Stormont to vote on, would have been the sensible thing, but i guess they reasoned it would get stuck there in a period where help is urgently needed.
SF aren’t even complaining about a vote, if you read the story you’d know that. The Minister for Health on his own without even informing the rest of the Executive (ie ruling government) went off and decided to call in the British Army.
Without question it will be needed, the NI case numbers are as BS as the GB ones tbh so I expect a large spike is coming there. But it’s a cross party unity government (as much as possible in NI), he should have given notice of his intent.
SF, shit eating scumbags who prey on people’s worries and concerns, and even worse actively support murder and criminality by their storm troopers!
Here here mate, these people make my blood boil. ????✌️✌️
The only person to kill more Irishmen in the 20th century than I.R.A.-S.F. was the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. ‘British’ here is a reference to the country that, in the opinion of the late Noël Browne T.D. has taken in, housed employed and educated fully one third of the Irish Free State’s and later Republic’s population since 1922.
I think overly simplifying things, SF is a political party, yes some of its members are heavily linked to the IRA and the past problems and should be in jail for murder, but both sides have to put the past behind, including us for the future to be peaceful. At least they have tried to make peace, ok not 100% there, but have to give some credit to them for getting us this far, however much it grates that certain members are in power.
Wow SF have outdone the Labour Party on pettiness and I thought that was impossible
Wow – another chance to knock Labour !
Oh they give us so many opportunities
Only to people who are petty. After all, you’ve just expressed your opinion, not actually given any examples.
Yes funnily enough I don’t like SF and the IRA supporting Labour Party you haven’t stumbled on a secret here who would think it x infantryman who served in Northern Ireland doesn’t like the Labour Party and the political wing of the very people who tried to kill him shocker that one
The Labour party doesn’t support the IRA and never has. Corbyn and some people like him may have some sympathy for them but they are in a minority. In any case you were talking about being petty. I’m sure you’ll remember Roy Mason, former NI Sec & Sec Def. He was hated by the Republicans because of his tough security policies – he is a Labour party man. Nor did I know that you served there, so you having that understandable dislike for SF I couldn’t possibly know about.
So the former leader of the Labour Party and his minions supported the IRA and the Labour Party elected him into power so that makes them just as bad , in ref to my dislike of SF and me being a former solider that shouldn’t even matter as the IRA were a vile bunch of terrorists who murdered innocent people and anyone with a oz of decency wouldn’t support them former solider or not
I’m sorry you feel that way but whatever your feelings about Corbyn it doesn’t make the entire Labour party ‘as bad’. Much of what was written about him is distorted, part of the standard smear campaign that the right wing press mount against any Labour leader.
I’ve always been a Labour party supporter but I never joined until he became leader – so I could vote against him in any leadership contest. No axe to grind in his defence at all.
Yes, that is why I re-joined Labour earlier this year….the opportunity to vote for a leader that is electable. As a former Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer will be a more difficult target for the right-wing tabloids…although they will try to undermine him!
Everything is right wing that doesn’t agree with me that’s the ticket and labour wonder why they are not taken serious
Did I say that…no I didn’t! Is their a right-wing tabloid press that tries to undermine Labour…yes there is. Your comments are thoughtless and hugely reactionary.
The Labour Party are the gift that just keeps giving…… same with SF it seems.. ????✌️✌️
That statement is what causes all the problems. The history of the two countries is far from good/evil, its far more complex. Unfortunately history isn’t really well taught either side of the channel and people believe the half truths, they are brought up on rather than actually fact checking. Not to mention that past happened before most if not all of us were born and the world has changed a lot since then. Blasting back to the past, that happened before any of us were born, whilst ignoring that the UK was there to bail out Ireland as a friend… Read more »
I’ll have you know that Irish history is very-well taught in my college….when I do it!
and you believe what you are told in college, you believe that it is the full and true story… interesting.
Did I say that…no, I didn’t! There are some tiresome twits on this website….but then that is social media for you. I’ve been teaching history for twenty years and seen how interpretations have changed even in that short period. Most history students are aware of the subjective nature of historical interpretation. Historiography is an important part of any historian’s training as are bias, vested interest and the whole process of interpreting primary sources. Being aware of the limitations of history is a major part of learning about it!
You are so right in every thing you’ve said
I’m sorry but this “Bailout fantasy” is just another example of dishonest views. The UK provided a minor amount to the joint fund, an amount that just happened to be enough for Ulster Bank a part of RBS, already bailed out by the British Taxpayer. Of that minor few billion the Republic offered to pay it off years ago like we did to the other nations that we borrowed from. They accepted, the UK didn’t wanting more interest repayments instead of an early pay off. And again, MINOR amount. The overwhelming majority of funding came from the EU and IMF,… Read more »
Harold is correct. NI is the last vestige of the British Empire. The Plantation was essentially a comparable exercise to the East India company’s arrival in India except that we wisely didn’t try to convert the Indians to Anglicanism. That said nothing is simple. The British would like to get rid of the expensive NI problem but the Republic aren’t interested in taking the Province off their hands; they can’t afford it. Also one of the outcomes of the Troubles is that the Catholic population of NI have remained strong in their faith and ironically have more in common with… Read more »
If you hate British rule so much, you are always welcome to return to the Republic instead of chafing under the jntolerable oppression of Britain. It always amuses me when the Irish seem to come here looking to work and settle here even though they despise us.
Last time I checked, and despite the EU’s, Varadkar’s and Sinn Fein’s best efforts, Ulster was still a part of the UK and its citizens British subjects whose health is ultimately the responsibility if the UK Government. If the UK Government make the decision that the health of UK citizens is best served with the logistical, organisational and field-medical capabilites of the British Army, and deploy nation-wide, so be it; its their call and there is not a damn thing the pathetic petty politikers of SF can do about it. FWIW, I probably would have NOTIFIED the parties at Stormont,… Read more »
Totally agree, NI is part of the UK. Nothing to do with SF. They shouldn’t even be part of the British Political system.
Well said Geoff. Whilst I get it the the Health Minister should have informed/asked the Assembly beforehand, this is an emergency situation in which no normal government anywhere would have found fault with
So can the Scottish or Welsh Health Minister call out British troops without asking anyone else?
No Ulster is not part of the UK. Northern Ireland is. At least know your own nation before lecturing.
Mark-The 6 Counties were known almost everywhere as Ulster up until relatively recently as were the Islands of Ireland and Britain known as the”British Isles”. These geographic anomalies have been corrected but still the old names can linger so lighten up and don’t labour the point. Oh and btw (says he by way of retaliation) could you try and educate the many good people in the ROI who constantly refer to England when they should say the UK or even Britain to get their facts right as well! The English Government, the Queen of England etc etc. Stay safe. Regards… Read more »
Republicans, eh? Happier when they are sticking bombs under the cars of off duty police officers!
Lowest of the low, scummiest of the scum….. and that’s the nicest things I can say about SF and the IRA if I’m honest. ????✌️✌️
Another sad attempt at troll wind up by crayon and cat litter eating Harold.
Let’s make sure that all the Covid sufferers the Army treats are Protestants
Like a dog returns to its vomit, Sinn Fein returns to its scumbaggery.
Just a thought exercise, the same minister a few weeks ago stated he’d ask for Irish Army resources if they were spare and could help. If he had done so without discussing it with any of the more hardline DUP ministers including Arlene, what do you think their reaction would have been exactly?
Fair point Mark but as Geoff above points out NI is part of the UK so the British Army is entitled to be there. The Irish Army is not although I personally would have no problem with such cross border co-operation
You would have no problem with a foreign army operating on British soil ?
We already do, we have a large number of US forces that are permanently based and therefore operating in the UK. We also have US forces operating in multiple of our overseas territories. I personally have no problems with Irish forces helping out, as they are our ally. It would however raise further concerns that our own forces are inadequately numbered to do the role and/or cause problems with the unionists, which were just as bad as the republicans. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have either army involved, but this is not exactly an ideal period of time and… Read more »
Basically my thoughts
Ally ? Sorry, must have missed Eire joining NATO.
You don’t mind us doing fire fighting operations in the North every summer though do you?
See below
What’s NATO got anything to do with being our allies or having foreign troops on our soil?
Erm, everything ? Its the only functional military alliance we are involved in. And anyway, Eire is, and always has been neutral. Of course, the main reason behind this was to thumb their nose at the UK..
If you are going to try and use Irish actually spell it right, or you know just use English, or do you go around calling Germany Deutschland?
Well I bloody well would…
We already do, who do you think does the firefighting for the North in Gorse season. It’s the Irish Air Corps that gets called in.
I’m well aware of the reality, my point is that a) we all know a section of NI for good reasons have “issues” with the British Army and b) the Health Minister didn’t even get sign off from the Executive. Can the Scottish or Welsh Health Minister call on British Army support without engaging with their first ministers?
This is a fair point, but its also not the time for SF to make it. Should they have gone to the executive probably yes, but drumming up issues at this time is just stupid. This is a global emergency and the army is helping out across the country (armies are helping out globally). This isn’t about north vs south, this is about lives being saved. Once its over, these issues can be raised and addressed, but not right now, the last thing anyone needs is SF giving anyone an excuse to protest or worse in the middle of a… Read more »
You think it’s just SF doing this for the hell of it? Has it occurred to you that there are still more than enough active dissidents who won’t blink at targeting anything with British soldiers involved in NI? You don’t think it might add security issues to the already major health situation? Don’t forget that the Assembly collapsed last time as SF were under huge pressure from the base over what was viewed as Unionist disrespect (same the other way of course), do we need a risk of said Assembly that’s already divided over what to do coming under further… Read more »
If that was the case there are backdoor channels that could have been used to make the point. Making it in public, at this time, is just likely to cause the very problems you are talking about. It’s irresponsible in a period of serious risk to public health.
You do get that the backdoor channels between SF and the DUP and UUP are well… this. They still don’t trust each other and their supporters certainly don’t. Like I said the previous assembly fell in part because a Unionist Minister cut a grant for Irish lessons and gave the OO money for their drums… small things that you or I and most wouldn’t care about matter in NI. Like it or not a chunk of the North’s population isn’t going to be thrilled about the British Army even doing such needed work as they are, the Unionist should have… Read more »
I don’t think anyone is arguing that the heads up shouldn’t have been given or that it wouldn’t have been a better way than handle this. What I am arguing, and I hope I am wrong, is the extremists will use this statement as an excuse to cause problems, it just doesn’t add any good and risks a lot of bad. When this is over SF, could have happily come out and stated they were against the deployment and tried to stop it etc etc, but instead they just want to make a cheap policitical point and darn be the… Read more »
I also think the vast majority of the NI population are rational enough to understand this isnt a return to the past military deployment, this is a short term deployment to a massive health problem, and will understand why they are there. Yes they might feel a little uncomfortable about it, but they will understand the need and appricate the help to the hospital’s.
Just remember, it was the Catholics that welcomed the Army’s deployment when the Troubles started… That didn’t last however.
this is a different situation, that the average person will understand. The dissidents are thugs and murderers, they will use whatever they can to justify further murder, logic doesn’t apply to them.
Really, evidence from NI suggests otherwise, both sides can take offence at the most minor of things and hold grudges for lifetimes.
The Irish in general can hold grudges for 800 years;
‘Irish Nationalism, a mix of grievance, hurt pride, spite and sullen independence hidden by charm’. J. Bowyer Bell (The Secret Army: The IRA).
Nope…for many reasons not least that the IRA had infiltrated NICRA at the highest levels, and used it to rekindle its failed campaign of 1958-62.
The Dissidents hate SF as much as many on this site hate them (up to active death threats), there was nothing SF could say or do that would prevent said dissidents from targeting British Forces if they want to. It’s the sad reality of that. The main issue is that SF is coming under pressure from it’s supporters over which policies it follows during this, London or Dublin’s. More than a few Catholic schools for example basically took the Dublin approach without waiting for the UK to move on school closures. If that pressure starts building again like it did… Read more »
That’s politics and its the same world over., its got nothing to do with what is right for the region, and everything to with keeping the gravy boat flowing. It doesn’t justify this action, at this time. Maybe they would lose some support in the short term, but that could be regained once this crisis is over or regained in another way that doesn’t risk violence at a period where people are already scared and the police and hospitals are stretched past breaking point.
I personally couldnt give a shiny sh*te about internal Republican issues, especially at the moment.
Except if they don’t stay internal… Then it becomes more of an issue, but I’m sure you’d find some other angle to blame then.
No the main issue with this is that Sinn Fein decided from the outset to try to take an all-Island approach to this, and ended up making themselves look stupid in the process. Connor Murphy SF Finance Minister announced in a blaze of all-Ireland glory that he had secured, through Dublin, an order to China for all the PPE required for our Health Care Workers in NI. The order never materialised…and Dublin later stated that the order hadn’t materialised when questions were asked. Thankfully the PPE was delivered through our own NHS; indeed I think I’m right in saying some… Read more »
You’re right, but you also have to understand that its particularly difficult for Unionist politicians to deal with a party who are closely wedded to PIRA.
Like it or not, NI is British soil so British troops are well within their rights to be anywhere in GREAT BRITAIN. I don’t care if some lunatics still can’t get over the fact that it is within the British Isles….. ????✌️✌️
Robin Swann, UUP, the Health Minister, a portfolio which none of the other parties wanted, announced to the Assembly and the general public his intention to submit MACA requests for military support in Northern Ireland about 3 weeks ago. At the time he also said he would accept support from the Irish Army also, or anywhere else, if it meant that lives were saved. All out in the open… Also at the time Sinn Feins Connor Murphy, Finance Minister and a convicted PIRA terrorist, said, when pushed by the media, that he would accept British Troops being deployed here to… Read more »
As far as I’m aware, its the NIFRS who fight gorse fires in Northern Ireland. They certainly spent a good bit of yesterday, with 50+ firefighters, dealing with one near Omagh. If there happens to be, on the Island of Ireland, an asset such as a fire-fighting bucket to suspend below a helicopter, to drop water on said fires, then of course, NIFRS, who work closely with their counterparts in the South, may ask for that asset to be tasked, if it is available. To the best of my knowledge, with the exception of the AAC Flight in Cyprus, there… Read more »
Also there’s already such cross border operations and East West, or at least I’d assume that’s what’s going on since our new PC12 has been in Belfast and over in GB the last week…
Your new PC12 is a cargo version which is most likely being used to type-convert pilots onto the airframe. Its not part of some East-West operation…but you already know that.
The Irish Army have no legal juristriction in a part of the UK, unlike the British Army
Again, not the point I was making. Also again nobody in London gives a damn every year when it’s our 139’s dropping water on NI fires.
Or the RAF policing Irish skies against potential russian encroachers, so thanks very much for the chopper or two for the gorse fires. I’m sure we help with the fuel costs on that. Dublin gives us nothing for free and under Vardaker they became even more of a sniping, sneering entity giving us endless loads of shite over brexit despite the UK bailing them out on previous occasions and providing a continuos and advantageous export market as a bedrock for the Irish economy, not thst anyone was taking much notice of that . So, what did Dublin ever do for… Read more »
Well said. I hope the UK Government tell them where to shove it next time they are hovering on the verge of national bankruptcy..
We weren’t and the UK’s contribution was so minor that it would have been easily replaced from others (and would have cost us less than what we have paid you). But then how would Brown have given more money to RBS?
minor, not sure how £14b is considered as minor and it was released prior to EU money being made available.
Well Steve……… The EU don’t want to bail Dublin out so they’re in for a difficult time in my opinion. This is why Varadkar is so opposed to BREXIT, he knows that it will give him a massive headache.
Mark……. You’re obviously Republican supporter /sympathiser and obviously a bitter hater of the British, if you want some thanks for putting out a gorse fire….. here it is……………… 0. The fact is that the relationship between Great Britain and ROI is mainly beneficial to the Irish…. as in Dublin gets billions and we get sweet FA in return. This is why Ireland are so opposed to BREXIT as it will mean you’ll have to get your financial aid from Brussels…….. which they aren’t keen on, for obvious reasons. On the history of “the troubles” of Northern Ireland, the whole thing… Read more »
Wow, 6 weeks later just for some rage spamming, you alright lad? As to some of your “points”, not a Republican, nor a hater of Brits, I’m one of the Irish that look at the Sh!tshow you lot allowed fester in NI and say why would we take on that shower? And no the IRA and all its lot can’t claim to have destroyed NI’s economy, there’s a whole host of reasons for that endless drain on the British Exchequer. Also my inlaws are Brits so no, though your politicians are a different matter. As to you random points, lets… Read more »
Mate, the UK is the one that decided to do that, as it’s in your interest to do so. If you want to stop go ahead. And no you don’t give us anything for that as we don’t charge. As for the usual Brexit bashing, you do get that other nations have their own national interests right, Varadkar (or any other Irish politician) did the right for Ireland, if that caused issues for the UK it’s only because nobody in London thought about the issue until it was too late. As to the money… Fuck me it’s a broken record… Read more »
Sauce for the Goose, Sauce for Gander was what I got told when I raised the Boris Johnston bashing on Irish Military Online…
Oh also for NI, all last summer every weekend it was the Irish ambulance doing weekend call outs for NI since the NI NHS service didn’t have enough crews, we also invested in the Derry hospital as well of course.
But yeah, poor UK being taken advantage of.
Mark, You’re being pretty petty TBH. Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry takes patients from County Donegal, just as the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen and Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry take patients from the ROI. In fact, back in 2013, when Letterkenny Hospital was flooded, dozens of patients were brought to Londonderry. I have personally witnessed Donegal ambulances bringing patients into A&E at Altnagelvin, and Irish Air Corps helicopters landing there with patients also. So if ‘we’, by that I assume people in the ROI, have put money into that hospital, I’m pretty glad to hear that because you get a fantastic… Read more »
Mark, I tried to address all your points as a oner last night, but for some reason my post was taken down. I’ll try to speak about some of the points you’ve raised individually instead. Altnagelvin Hospital takes patients from across Donegal, it always has. I believe its the case that Donegal folk prefer to go there as they know its a better hospital than the one in Letterkenny. When the Letterkenny Hospital flooded in 2013, dozens of patients from there ended up in Londonderry. I have personally, on many occasions, seen Donegal ambulances bring patients from across the border… Read more »
Change the record Mark……. Oooh, we put put some fires….. Oooh, we sent some ambulances….
I’ll have a go…… Oooh, we give Dublin billions because the Irish economy is permanently flat lining……. ????✌️✌️
London wouldn’t, Fire Fighting is a devolved issue.
You think Arlene’s hardline? I think shes probably been the voice of measured reason in the midst of this whole mess, and I’m not particularly a fan. I’ll give her credit where due though. You’ve asked a hypothetical question, but I’m going to guess that the reaction might have been something like ‘This isn’t ideal but its peoples lives at stake’.
However, running with a hypothetical questions, do the Irish Army possess a Field Hospital, the people to man it, or the engineering and logistical capability to build one, in Northern Ireland, in nine days?
O.F.F.S
The request for military aid by the nhs is standard and well set out it goes through the MACA process. It’s goes from a request made by the NHS up the the DOH, is signed of by a minister and is then passed onto the MOD who decide if they will provide the requested support and how much they are going to charge the NHS for it. This process can be streamlined and ministerial sign off removed if their is immediate risk to life and limb. SF have made up this need to consult with a regional legislative body. The… Read more »
Similar dangerous nonsense from the wee cranky.
Apparently she has heard a rumour the all the PPE is being grabbed by England. Conveniently neglected to do any research before lobbing this grenade. Turns out that all the home nations are working together very well are managing the situation well and one of the main sources of PPE for Scotland is English health authorities. What would be the point of Scotland hoarding when most of the casualties are in England? Wants to integrate with the EU. Really just not helping and people should not forget this.
1. Was this not obvious from the news?
2. Haven’t we got a common enemy in the virus?
3. They will be gone when the crisis is over?
4. The actions of people long dead are not as important as the actions today?
5. I have Irish, Scots, Viking, German, French and English blood. Who do I fight – myself?
No cure for STUPID.
Well well well……. A leopard never changed its spots, eh? I find her comments insulting actually, but what she has to remember is that Ulster is British and it always will be so a request for help from the British Army is perfectly normal….. As an ex serviceman, things like this make my blood boil.