Debate contribution: Mental Health Provision in Northern Ireland

Debate contribution by Mr Peter McReynolds on 30 September 2024.

MLA

Mr Peter McReynolds

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

30 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Mental Health Provision in Northern Ireland

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4563517

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion today, and I thank the Opposition for tabling it. It is not the most detailed or lengthy motion that I have seen — I do not mean that as a criticism — but it is probably one of the most important that the Opposition have tabled. It seeks to make sure that we in the Chamber never forget the high rate of mental health issues that many people in Northern Ireland live with and the need for the Assembly and our Executive to take mental health seriously. I am an MLA for East Belfast, but I was born in north Belfast, which, tragically, has well-documented high rates of suicide and mental health issues. Thankfully, I have not had a friend or family member take their life, but, at one point in my brother's fourth or fifth year at school, sadly, four students took their life across one academic year. That had a profound impact on the school and the students. The gym that I go to is run by Rory Girvan, another person from north Belfast. He launched the 33 Til' Infinity campaign to raise money in honour of Michael Cullen, who, sadly, took his life in 2018. I remember being nudged during a Belfast City Council committee to be told that Michael had been found, after the community in north Belfast had rallied for over a week to try to find him. I echo Órlaithí's point about the families of victims of suicide. I was there for the vigil last year, and I encourage Members to attend it, if it is held again, for a truly humbling and insightful experience. Asking the question, "Are you thinking about suicide?" is a sobering but important skill that can provide the right intervention at the right time, something that I learnt during a training session with the incredible East Belfast Survivors of Suicide in 2014. I did not expect to use that training the very next day with a constituent who walked into our constituency office to discuss housing issues when the conversation took a dark turn. My work with the ADHD community is well documented. It will not surprise anyone to hear that people living with ADHD are three to five times more likely to attempt to take their life and, sadly, to be successful. ADHD is a more common condition in Northern Ireland than we think. It is treatable — medication is 95% effective — but the service that we offer here was recently described to me by a GP as "a pretend service". Unless someone pays to go private, our waiting lists are hitting eight to 10 years for a diagnosis, even if that person is lucky enough to get an appointment, as demand is surging. Unfortunately, that is another example of how we fail neurodiverse people and those living with mental health issues. I outline those examples not for dramatic effect but because they are the realities that people have faced in Northern Ireland in recent years and face in the present day. We know the statistics. We know that prevention and early intervention work. We know that there should be a cohesive and comprehensive approach, from GPs to hospitals, because many people fall through the cracks even after approaching the right people for support. We know that investing now will save money in the long term and, crucially, will save lives. I end my contribution by acknowledging the work of former Alliance councillor David Armitage. He recently told me that, if it had not been for his church, his friends and Claire Curran from East Belfast Survivors of Suicide, an intensely overworked charity that does life-saving work, he simply would not be here. That is what government is for, and it shows the importance of having the institutions functioning as they should all year round, for 365 days a year, with Ministers in post for key decisions to be made for everyone in Northern Ireland.

667 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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