Member's statement: Mental Health Services: South Down
Member's statement by Mr Colin McGrath on .
- MLA
- Mr Colin McGrath
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 30 April 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Mental Health Services: South Down
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4486717
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to make a Member's statement about the provision of mental health services in South Down, notably those that are offered by three local organisations that I have worked with, Life Change Changes Lives in Downpatrick, Mind Your Mate and Yourself (MYMY) in Newcastle and Castlewellan and The Well in the kingdom of Mourne. The issues of mental health and well-being and, indeed, suicide will impact all of us at some point, whether directly or indirectly. While we are 26 years since the Good Friday Agreement and are grateful for the peace that we now enjoy, so many families and individuals still live with the trauma and the trans-generational trauma that the Troubles caused. Medical professionals tell us that the legacy of the Troubles has contributed to the greater prevalence of mental health issues in the North compared with England, Scotland or Wales. Therefore, the need to implement a fully resourced and funded mental health strategy and action plan has never been greater. Often, those who require counselling to help care for their adverse mental health can avail themselves of only six free sessions under the current model that is provided by the statutory health trusts. It seems ridiculous that we have one size that is expected to fit absolutely everybody and is such a short supply of what they need. Mental health does not follow statutory guidelines. After six sessions, people are often left at a cliff edge, wondering whom to turn to. In that void left by the statutory sector, it is often community and voluntary sector organisations such as Life Change Changes Lives, MYMY and The Well that step in to provide a much-needed listening ear, a shoulder to cry on or words to calm a troubled soul. In some circumstances, those organisations literally talk people back from the edge of death. They do it not for profit or headlines; rather, they do it because it is the right thing to do and because they care for the people in our communities. Yet, here we have an Executive who do not believe that those organisations deserve the funding to do the work that they do. Often, there is no cure for adverse mental health but, rather, the imparting of skills, knowledge and understanding to help those suffering to live with their conditions. Therefore, the need for a multi-year budget to enable the Department to fund those organisations has never been greater. Our Executive should work to provide that funding.
413 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.06 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.49 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.48 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.