'Wasted' £50 million could have been better spent on health - McCarthy

11.48.13am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Jul 2006

Alliance Health Spokesperson, Kieran McCarthy

Alliance Party Health Spokesperson, Kieran McCarthy, has slammed government for spending £50 million on management consultancy and hospitality fees. The figure covers 11 government departments in Northern Ireland, for the two financial years from 2004.

The Strangford Assembly Member said: "I am shocked and appalled that £50 million has been spent on consultancy and hospitality, when the health service in Northern Ireland dearly needs investment to keep it working effectively.

"Its a disgrace that the government can waste such a massive sum of money on non-essential areas, when the health and education sectors are crying out for help.

"Government must be more transparent in the area of management consultancy, so that we can see exactly what this massive sum of money has been spent on.

"The government must invest more in frontline services like health, and stop wasting cash on waffle management strategies and extravagant lunches. The government must redirect such spending to the health sector, before it is driven into the ground through lack of investment."

ENDS