U.S.THE BBN INTERVIEW

No money for new emergency department, says minister

Robbie Butler says a new emergency department at Altnagelvin hospital in Derry is a priority; he just does not have the money to pay for it.

On air: Gloria Vance on Wake Up, America
Published 5:39 AM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

At a glance

First reported by BBC: “No money for new emergency department, says minister”.
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 5:39 AM ET on Wake Up, America, by Gloria Vance.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

BBCNo money for new emergency department, says minister

What BBN said about it

Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA minister in Northern Ireland says a new emergency department at Altnagelvin hospital in Derry is a priority, but he does not have the money to build it.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorJoining us from a minimum-security prison is Lyle Zbikowski, inmate forty-oh-four-seventeen and library aide. Lyle, a priority with no money. Is that a plan?
Lyle ZbikowskiHypothetically speaking, Gloria, it's the oldest plan there is. You announce the building, you skip the building, and everybody still gets a ribbon.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorYou sound like a man who has seen a ribbon-cutting up close.
Lyle ZbikowskiHypothetically, a man once ran an ambulance service with two vans, one siren and a very confident clipboard. Nobody asked where the hospital was.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorTwo vans.
Lyle ZbikowskiOne van, officially.
Lyle ZbikowskiBut look, I keep this punch card for the infirmary here, eight of ten filled, and honestly it's a better health plan than the minister's.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorLyle, the minister says the department is a priority. Does a priority need money, yes or no?
Lyle ZbikowskiHypothetically, a priority needs a logo, a hotline and a gift shop.
Lyle ZbikowskiThe gift shop pays for everything, which my lawyer called a sales tactic and the judge called a crime.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorI covered a health ministry once that funded its entire emergency wing with a raffle.
Lyle ZbikowskiHire me when I'm out, Gloria. Hypothetically, I'd have that Derry department open by Friday, with a fleet of two vans.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe department is hereby stamped with a groundbreaking permit. Lyle, would you live next door to it?
Lyle ZbikowskiGloria, hypothetically, I already lived in its parking lot. In a van. For eleven months.