Debate contribution: PSNI: Pressure due to Health System Failings
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Donnelly
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 1 December 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- PSNI: Pressure due to Health System Failings
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5269522
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Linda. I agree with that. I was struck by how many Members have served on the Health Committee and the Policing Board, and for how long. I think that the Minister has done both. I absolutely agree that there is a lot of experience here. Jon Burrows said that the concern for safety calls are a whole-society issue and that the PSNI is often sent to mental health patients because, at times, they can be violent. He also highlighted the fact that the PSNI is currently needed to force entry into houses and suggested that PSNI officers are negotiators who can talk someone off a bridge, sometimes by talking to them for up to eight hours. He said that the PSNI has those skills. I disagree slightly with that. It does not need to be a police officer. There are mental health professionals who are highly skilled in communicating with people in distress. We have seen that with the NIAS staff working with the South Eastern Trust. They are able to talk to people in distress, and they are able to de-escalate the situation.
Yes.
I do not have that figure in front of me, but I am aware of the mental health professionals who are able to work and talk to people in mental health crisis and who are able to de-escalate the situation and assist the people who are in crisis. Mike Nesbitt responded to the debate. He said that it is critical that the right person responds to a person in a mental health crisis. He also said that he does not agree that the health service is broken. He said that the people receive treatment once they get into it, but that the pathways may be broken. He advised that the Health Committee should advise and assist the Minister. I do not believe that the Health Committee has received a full list of priorities —.
Do I not get another minute?
327 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: 0.04 (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 (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| 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 | 0.91 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.09 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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