Opposition parties slam Government spending plans

Opposition parties are slamming the Government’s spending plans for the next year.

The Department of Health has received a £600m cast injection in the Book of Estimates, which was published today.

The 13% increase in the department’s funding includes a provision for an extra 2,500 employees in the health sector.

The departments of education, social welfare and infrastructure also received increases in their spending targets.

Labour’s Derek McDowell believes the Government is trying to shelve the National Development plan however, with construction inflation running very high.

The Book of Estimates contains an overall increase of 8% in Government spending for next year, bringing total expenditure up to around £21bn.