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Deirdre Heenan

Deirdre Heenan

The Business Post

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Where is the change Labour promised us? Time to hit the reset button

This Labour government began their mandate for change cushioned by a sky-high majority and a public perception that things could only get better....

28.10.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Time to face up to hard truths of broken promises on health reform

Shortly after his appointment as health minister, Mike Nesbitt announced that he was inviting Professor Rafael Bengoa back to Northern Ireland, to...

14.10.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Keir Starmer is no Tony Blair

Last week Keir Starmer delivered the first conference speech from a Labour prime minister in 15 years. Rebuilding a party riven by factionalism and...

30.09.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Stormont’s programme for government is just more of the same thin gruel we’ve been served for decades

Having a programme for government is better than not having one, but beyond that the production of this ‘plan for the future’ is hardly a cause...

16.09.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Claire Hanna is energetic and relatable – but can she make the SDLP relevant too?

Claire Hanna is set to take over at the helm of the SDLP. She will be seventh leader since the formation of the party and its second female leader....

03.09.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

There’s a blueprint to transform mental health services. Why won’t the Department of Health fund it?

Despite being described as a priority policy issue, mental health services in Northern Ireland are being left to fail. Patients and service users...

19.08.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Labour is simply playing Tories at their own game

The new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is pulling no punches about the £22 billion fiscal black hole that she has inherited from the previous Tory...

05.08.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

No-one wins in our system of dealing with medical negligence

Last week our health and social care system was again in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons. The Western Health and Social Care Trust paid out...

22.07.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

The concept of ‘unionist seats’ has been consigned to history

A dull, lacklustre Westminster campaign has produced seismic changes to the political landscape in the north. This election has upended politics here,...

09.07.2024 20

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Deirdre Heenan: Northern election has swept away old certainties and ushered in new reality

Unionism is no longer a dominant force and concept of ‘unionist seats” has been consigned to history

07.07.2024 9

The Business Post

Deirdre Heenan

Dull as dishwater election campaign reflects Stormont’s lack of energy and delivery

The general election is less than two weeks away, yet to date the campaign has been lacklustre and dull. Why has it failed to spark into life? On a...

24.06.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Dear Mike, here’s the three things you need to do to fix the health service

Mike Nesbitt is our new health minister and should be given a chance to prove his credentials. It’s early days but so far, he has ditched the...

10.06.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

We need our politicians rowing in the same direction but too many are paddling their own canoes

The Stormont budget debate, held last Tuesday, was in many ways a formality as the financial settlement had already been agreed upon by the main...

03.06.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

We won’t be at the top of a Labour government’s agenda

Rishi Sunak has taken a gamble and called a general election for July 4. The majority of his own MPs were blindsided, and many are unhappy at the...

27.05.2024 20

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Our only choice is no government or bad government

What have we learnt from the UK Covid Inquiry’s sitting in Belfast? The focus of this module was on core decision-making and governance. During the...

20.05.2024 30

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Deirdre Heenan: Doug Beattie blunders leave moderate Ulster Unionist Party reeling

The party has spent the last five months engulfed in controversies which have raised serious questions about Doug Beattie’s leadership and judgement

12.05.2024 30

The Business Post

Deirdre Heenan

Selecting Timmy Mallett over Tim Collins would have been a wiser move for the UUP

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has defended Colonel Tim Collins, his candidate for North Down in the upcoming general election, after a...

06.05.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

You’re right Robin, it’s not about you, but it is about us and our health

Last Thursday the Ulster Unionist Party and its executive minister Robin Swann voted against the Northern Ireland Executive budget. The health...

29.04.2024 50

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

‘When strong leadership was absolutely critical to rescue a system on the brink, we have been lumbered with interim appointment’

As widely predicted Robin Swann announced yesterday that when the General Election is called, he will step down as the Health Minister. At a time when...

22.04.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Reform UK and the TUV deserve each other, but haven’t the rest of us suffered enough?

As though political unionism didn’t already have its troubles to seek, TUV leader Jim Allister has announced a formal partnership with Reform UK. He...

15.04.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Deirdre Heenan: Continuity leader Robinson faces tough battle to hold divided DUP together

The anti-deal wing of the party could seize on this crisis as an opportunity to regain control of the political narrative

07.04.2024 4

The Business Post

Deirdre Heenan

Red flag cancer referrals can never be delayed by new computer system again

Last week the BBC health correspondent, Marie Louise Connolly, reported that women waiting for their initial breast cancer assessment appointments...

01.04.2024 9

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

The health dividend of peace: Cancer knows no borders

In the week leading up to St Patrick’s Day, a series of events took place in Washington to highlight the impact of the Belfast Good Friday...

18.03.2024 30

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

We needed a cheerleader for our health and social care. With Robin Swann we’ve got a funeral director

Last week the new health minister Robin Swann gave a keynote address to the Royal College of GPs. The health and social care system is in turmoil,...

04.03.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Is this Stormont executive up to the challenge of health and social care transformation?

The dust has settled on the restoration of the devolved institutions, and attention has quickly turned to delivery and how this new administration...

19.02.2024 30

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

British government’s secret devolution deal sets dangerous precedent

The deal is done. The devolved institutions have been restored. There is cautious optimism that we can finally move on and address the priorities that...

05.02.2024 20

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

DUP have run out of road and need to decide

I was in Stormont on Wednesday and witnessed the by-now familiar sight of our MLAs filing into the chamber and filing out again, unable to form a...

22.01.2024 9

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

We can’t go on like this. Something has to give in GP crisis

The beginning of 2024 marked a watershed moment in the history of the NHS in the north, as Dr Tom Black opened the first hybrid public-private GP...

09.01.2024 10

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

The lethality of loneliness

The Christmas advertisement for Charlie's Bar in Enniskillen, has become an internet sensation, touching the hearts of the thousands who have...

11.12.2023 20

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

Deirdre Heenan: The lethality of loneliness

The Christmas advertisement for Charlie's Bar in Enniskillen, has become an internet sensation, touching the hearts of the thousands who have...

11.12.2023 20

The Irish News

Deirdre Heenan

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