Swann hits back at his critics over abortion row

THE Health Minister has defended his handling of a Stormont stand-off over the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.

Robin Swann was answering an urgent question in the Assembly on the ongoing failure to commission services, a year on from the introduction of regulations liberalising the law on terminations.

While individual health trusts are offering services on an adhoc basis, Mr Swann’s Depart- ment of health has yet to cen- trally commission services on a region-wide basis.

Mr Swann has made clear that he will not commission the services without the approval of the wider Executive. However, the anti-abortion DUP has to date blocked Mr Swann’s proposal.

Amid the impasse, Westminster is this week set to intervene and hand the Northern Ireland Secretary the power to direct Mr Swann’s department to commission services.

Mr Swann told the Assembly yesterday that he tabled proposals last year. “As the Executive has not agreed to this proposal, no further work has been taken forward by my department,” he told MLAS.

During Assembly questions, pro-choice MLAS insisted Mr Swann had the ability to commission the services without the approval of the wider Executive.

Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw, who tabled the urgent oral question, asked mrs w ann to outline how it is a cross cutting matter.

Mr Swann said he was satisfied he had executed his ministerial duties by bringing the matter to the Executive, and stood by his view that the matter “could be considered as significant or controversial and outside the scope of the Programme for Government”, as well as cutting across into the area of human rights.

Mr Swann was involved in an exchange with Sinn Fein MLA Emma Sheerin when he suggested she had called him a “liar” from her Assembly seat.

It came after Ms Sheerin asked the minister what he had to say to women having to travel to England to access services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The minister was in the middle of answering when here act- ed to something she said havingresumed her seat .“i’ m not a liar, no matter what the member says,” he said.

At the close of the debate Ms Sheerin raised a point of order.

“The minister accused me of calling him a liar, can I put it on the record that I did not call him a liar,” she said.

Mr Swann said if he had misheard Ms Sheerin he would apologise, but added: “I think I saw what the member said.”