LISTEN: Michelle O'Neill says she'll do whatever is needed to save lives, when asked about military aid for health services

By Q Radio News

The Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill says she'll do whatever is needed to save lives and serve the people.

Her comments come as the Sinn Fein Deputy Leader was asked whether she would back the British military being deployed to help in the fight against Coronavirus in Northern Ireland.

In response, Ms O'Neill said, "I really wish people wouldn't play games with something that is so serious:"

However, Ms O'Neill did admit there are tensions around the role of the military. 

Michelle O'Neill

"Everybody knows the fact that there are particular sensitivities here because of the role of the British military in the past but we're in the middle of a global pandemic."

Also asked about the issue of any military intervention during the crisis in Northern Ireland, the First Minister Arlene Foster said she would "absolutely" support any request for military assistance.

Arlene Foster

She said, "I believe that if mutual aid is not possible from other health services across the UK then to look to our military to provide back-up support, particularly around logistics, for example, they could help with that and in other ways as well."