Debate contribution: ADHD Services
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 9 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- ADHD Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5369743
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I support the motion and the amendment, and I thank Members for tabling them. Obviously, I support the call for the publication of the report into the commissioning of services and engagement with GP representative bodies. We are witnessing yet another example of how privatisation and underfunding create a two-tier health service that punishes working-class families. The facts speak for themselves. As Members have said, there is no commissioned adult ADHD service in the North, despite clear evidence that it is required and NICE guidelines requiring proper provision. Children and adults are left waiting for years for a diagnosis, and some trusts have years-long waiting lists for even a diagnostic assessment. Meanwhile, families who can afford to do so are paying thousands of pounds for private assessments and ongoing care. Those who cannot afford that are left to struggle without any support. That is totally unacceptable. As Members have said, there is a postcode lottery. That creates systemic inequalities between different parts of the North, with some trusts being unable to comply with the best practice guidelines. In the meantime, as the Member for East Derry said, adults and children are turning to social media for guidance and support. For example, TikTok videos with the hashtag #ADHD have been viewed over 20 billion times. That is very worrying, considering that it is a completely unregulated media form. What are entirely missing here are the services in between the crisis points — assessment, diagnosis, medication, management, psychological support, monitoring and continuity of care — which prevent people from reaching crisis in the first place. Adults in the North with ADHD live seven to nine years less than their neurotypical peers. That is due, mainly, to unmet needs. Being neurodivergent should not be an early death sentence. A system that intervenes only when someone is already in severe distress is not preventative, not equitable and not compliant with our most basic human rights and equality obligations. The human cost is enormous. Untreated ADHD results in higher attendance at EDs, school exclusion and unemployment. We are spending significant public funds on crisis interventions, special educational needs tribunals and emergency care rather than on early and preventative support, which would be far more effective and humane and would be cheaper in the long run.
On top of that failure, we face proposed cuts in education, which will devastate pupils with ADHD who desperately need support in schools. Children with ADHD and autism are excluded from mainstream education, with families paying between £12,000 and £15,000 for private assessments and support and facing financial hardship as a result. Meanwhile, the Education Minister has repeatedly threatened to take away one-to-one classroom assistant support from pupils who benefit from it. That has caused a huge deal of fear and anxiety, and, across the healthcare system, we are seeing public money being funnelled towards private providers while inequality between rich and working-class families deepens. We urgently need the immediate commissioning and funding of adult ADHD services in every health trust, an end to the postcode lottery and equal access to diagnosis and treatment across the North. This is a fundamental healthcare provision, and people have waited long enough for it. I am happy to support the amendment and the motion.
541 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: 0.05 (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 (0.97).
- 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 | 0.08 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.97 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | 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 | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| 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 14:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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