AS the Executive-in-waiting names the prospective ministers for the new devolved administration - due to 'go live' on May 8 - Cllr Pat McDonnell has been considering the implications of these appointments for Omagh and West Tyrone generally.
"The appointment I was watching with most interest was Health said the councillor.
"That has been taken by the Ulster Unionist Party. So we may presume that Reg Empey will be undertaking this most challenging of portfolios.
ROBUST CASE
"It has also become increasingly evident in recent months that the promise of a serious acute hospital for Fermanagh is a chimera. The robust case put together by the Omagh campaigners still stands - there is only one viable site for an acute hospital in these parts and that is in Omagh.
The appointment of a devolved Health Minister gives the Omagh campaign a new impetus and a new focus for lobbying. We must be at Reg Empey's door very soon. If the facts are faced on this issue, the logic of the Omagh case must carry the day," said Mr McDonnell.
