Northern Ireland health minister Bairbre de Brun has found £5m to tackle waiting times while formally approving spending plans for the £53m found for Northern Ireland's health service in the Budget.

Ms de Brun has already announced plans for an action plan to tackle waiting lists. Announcing the money, she said: 'We have over 47,000 people waiting for admission to hospital. Many others are waiting in the community for services to help them live more independent lives. This is simply unacceptable in a modern society.' Ms de Brun also announced that a consultation paper on public health will be published later this year.

A new public health strategy should be ready by next April.