A JOINT pledge by two Executive ministers to secure protective clothing for workers treating coronavirus has been made following mounting concerns among limited supplies for those on the frontline.
Finance minister Conor Murphy and Health Minister Robin Swann visited a factory in west Belfast yesterday afternoon that has re-purposed production lines to make millions of pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) locally.
Nurses, care home workers and paramedics have expressed alarm over the past fortnight about severe shortages of high-level masks and suits to protect them contracting Covid-19 and infecting other patients as well as their families.
Mr Murphy yesterday said that a Chinese PPE manufacturer which Stormont is poised to place a multi-million pound order with is a "credible" supplier.
The Sinn Féin finance minster said that while securing personal protective equipment from overseas did come with risks, he insisted the executive was doing all it could to mitigate those risks.
A previous executive effort to purchase PPE from China fell through after the administration was outmuscled by rival bids from the US and India.
Mr Murphy and Mr Swann both insisted the new deal did not place them in competition with the UK Government's coordinated supply line.
Meanwhile, BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show revealed yesterday that a Department of Health official had raised flags about the £170 million deal with a Chinese state firm, expressing concern about the quality of the PPE products and that the executive may place itself in competition with UK-wide procurement efforts in China.
The two ministers said they would be securing assurances over the quality of the products purchased.
"We're dealing with people who have credibility, we are dealing with people who have a state association and an assurance from the Chinese government," said Mr Murphy
"And we have people on the ground trying to ensure that there's quality, that there's security of supply.
"There are always risks in going to procure items abroad, but what we have to do is mitigate those risks, to make sure that we have assurances on security of supply, quality of products.
"And then we also have to balance that out against what's needed, what's needed for frontline staff in this pandemic."
On the question of Stormont pursing different procurement lines, local, UK and international, Mr Swann said one did not represent a threat to the others.
"There's no threat, there's no challenge - this is about working in partnership to make sure we have the PPE supply that we need in Northern Ireland," he said.
"As health minister I will not put any inferior product into the line or into the supply chain for my health workers to use.
"That would be irresponsible and I wouldn't do that."
The ministers made the remarks on a visit to Huhtamaki in west Belfast - a company that has partnered with another business, Bloc Blinds, to produce four to six million face shields a week.
