Danny Donnelly
East Antrim · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for that answer. It will not satisfy the people of the area. The completion of the 3 km distributor road was planned to be a key part of the development, linking hundreds of houses to the wider road network, but, due to a planning issue by her Department in the 1990s, it never happened.”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, as you mentioned in your statement, the inquiry was highly critical of what it describes as "an adversarial and oppositional approach" by the Belfast Trust to the inquiry.”
“The Minister mentioned the need to reform the health service. In light of the recent startling figures that show that half a billion pounds was spent on locums over the past three years, does he agree that investment in attracting permanent doctors may be a more prudent use of Department of Health resource?”
“<BR /> <BR />As a nurse, I condemn the attacks in the strongest possible terms and highlight the specific impact that they have had on people who care for us when we are at our most vulnerable.”
“Every day, they treat patients with skill, compassion and professionalism. Let us be absolutely clear: when a nurse is intimidated on her way to work and chased by masked men into the Ulster Hospital, that is an attack on our health service.”
“I will speak today about the attacks on our international healthcare staff. I begin by saying that my thoughts are with the victim of the brutal attack in north Belfast and his family. I hope that he recovers well. <BR /> <BR />Violence has no place in our society.”
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“I thank the Minister for her answer. Despite the hard-working businesses in our town centres, there is a proliferation of vacant premises in my constituency of East Antrim. Does the Minister agree that high street businesses are getting an unfair deal from the current rating system? What can be done to make competition from online shopping, where rent and rates are much less, fairer in order to protect town centre businesses?”
“The Minister mentioned that the key criteria will be reviewed before the next round of projects. When was the last review of the eligibility criteria?”
“<BR /> <BR />Naloxone is used in overdose prevention centres around the world, which have prevented thousands of deaths, reduced the spread of serious disease and improved communities without increasing drug-related crime in the countries where they operate. I hope that the Minister is considering such a centre for Northern Ireland, as it would undoubtedly save more lives. <BR /> <BR />This is a welcome step towards a harm-reduction model for issues around drug use in Northern Ireland. I thank the Minister for bringing the regulations today, and I encourage all Members to support the wider availability of this life-saving medication.”
“I was happy to hear from the Minister that it will be expanded with the availability of an online version. <BR /> <BR />The levels of overdose and drug addiction in our society are truly tragic, as others have mentioned. Like other MLAs, I have met families who have, sadly, lost relatives to overdose, and their loss remains heartbreaking. As an MLA for East Antrim, I have seen the hard work of organisations dealing with drug addiction, including Extern, Larne YMCA and Carrick Connect. Any support that we can provide to such organisations is essential, and the widening availability of naloxone should assist in the prevention of loss of life as a consequence of drug addiction.”
“The regulations also establish a national registration service to allow relevant services and professionals not outlined in the legislation such as housing and homelessness services to register and procure naloxone. <BR /> <BR />As the Minister mentioned, tragically, drug misuse deaths have doubled since 2012, and, in 2022, opioids were involved in 60% of drug misuse deaths in Northern Ireland. The evidence in favour of naloxone is clear. It was supplied 1,861 times in 2023-24, and, since the introduction of the Public Health Agency's take-home naloxone scheme in 2012, it has successfully reversed an overdose in over 1,765 cases. The regulations will expand the availability of take-home naloxone and provide essential training for naloxone suppliers. The training is to be completed initially and then refreshed every two years.”
“On behalf of the Alliance Party, I will speak in favour of the draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Naloxone and Transfers of Functions) Regulations 2024. As the Minister, the Committee Chair and Diane have outlined, we have discussed the regulations at the Health Committee. We took evidence from departmental officials on Thursday 12 September 2024. <BR /> <BR />Naloxone is a life-saving medication that is used to reverse the effect of an overdose of opioid drugs. As a nurse, I am very aware of the importance of that medication to saving lives. The proposals in the regulations will widen the availability of naloxone by expanding the list of services and professionals who can give out naloxone without a prescription, allowing the appropriate use of take-home naloxone.”
“<BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I encourage all Members to support our motion. We need to address the crisis facing our social care services. Everyone deserves the best outcomes, regardless of their background. The policy priorities have been outlined in previous reports and by other Members throughout the debate. We know what needs to be done, and it is time for action from the Department of Health.”
“That results in long waits for ambulances in our communities. Members of the Health Committee who visited the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service will have spoken to paramedics. I was impressed by the paramedics' professionalism but concerned to see the extreme pressures on the service. <BR /> <BR />I will highlight research from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that suggests that there is strong evidence that, in 2022, 1,434 people died as a result of delays in Northern Ireland's emergency departments. That claim is backed up by evidence in the 'Emergency Medicine Journal' that suggests that, if you are waiting in an emergency room, you have a much higher chance of dying. Those 1,434 excess deaths in 2022 represent a shocking figure, and I am sure that we can all agree on that.”
“<BR /> <BR />Before being elected to this place, I worked in the health service as a nurse, and I have seen at first hand the effect of the overcrowding in hospital wards and A&E departments that results when patient flow is reduced. Wards that can be understaffed end up with extra patients being cared for in inappropriate corridor beds, where there is no emergency equipment and little dignity. Healthcare staff are unable to deliver the care that, they know, their patients need, and that causes undue stress and burnout. <BR /> <BR />A&E departments become so full of patients requiring admission to wards that they cannot take any more, and ambulances end up stacked outside for many hours with paramedics in the back caring for patients for sometimes their whole shift rather than being on the road attending calls.”
“He highlighted the importance of ongoing cross-departmental work to support unpaid carers and talked of a review of social care standards that will be consulted on in due course. The Minister stated that social care reform remains a priority for him, and, on tariff rates, he said that work is under way to establish how social care is delivered. <BR /> <BR />In his winding-up speech, Alan Robinson made quite a statement when he said that, when you fix social care, you begin to fix the entire healthcare system. He talked about unpaid carers being at breaking point — again, that is familiar to most people across the Chamber and recalled the sad case of a constituent who had tried to take her own life.”
“She also highlighted the fact that the Alzheimer's Association said that the social care system is not set up to care for people with dementia. She noted that unpaid carers save the health service a fortune but are struggling under extreme stresses and must be supported. She also pointed out that we need a carers register, which came up a few times. <BR /> <BR />Minister Nesbitt responded by saying that he understands the frustrations with the pace of reform and that the Department has established a social care collaborative forum that works on short-term solutions and long-term strategies. He spoke of the importance of improving social care as a career, and he mentioned the 'Care to chat?' podcast. He talked about how he is working towards our need to get to a sustainable workforce model.”
“<BR /> <BR />Linda Dillon noted that the system is overstretched and underfunded and that, again, seven years since 'Power to People', the problems remain and are even worse in rural areas in Northern Ireland like her constituency of Mid Ulster. She highlighted the importance of collaboration in the community and voluntary sector and of a review of how it is funded, saying that independent price regulation is essential. <BR /> <BR />My colleague Kellie Armstrong gave us her personal history as a carer for her late brother and her father, and, as Alan noted, that strengthened the debate. She said that the population of older people in Northern Ireland who will need support is increasing. People are impacted by spending long times on waiting lists, particularly for things like hips and knees, and they are suffering unnecessarily.”
“He highlighted workforce shortages and long waits for support, stating that the system is in crisis and that the work of the social care collaborative forum is vital. He called on the Minister to bring forward key priorities and highlighted vacancy rates in social care. He asked where the new social workers would come from and called for a review of the 2006 carers' strategy. <BR /> <BR />Diana Armstrong talked about the importance of social care staff to older people and their families and to patient flow in hospitals. She noted that reforms are needed but that solutions are not solely dependent on funding, and she highlighted the importance of regulation of the independent sector.”
“She asked the Minister for an update on the ability of independent care homes to reclaim VAT on expenditure in the same way as care homes elsewhere in the UK, which he delivered. <BR /> <BR />Liz Kimmins, Chair of the Health Committee, noted that the debate was similar to that on children's social care this morning. She referenced a recent visit to Northern Ireland Ambulance Service headquarters, highlighting the bottleneck in the system that results in failure to deliver safe and reliable care. Liz also pointed out that families wait months for care packages, which puts incredible strain on unpaid carers. <BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath talked about the lack of meaningful progress since the 'Power to People' report in 2017.”
“<BR /> <BR />Diane Dodds moved the amendment, raising an issue that has come to her constituency office: delayed discharges and appropriate costs of care. She called the number of beds that are out of action for acute care an "obscenity", highlighting the fact that, in March of this year, 628 patients were needlessly in hospital, in some cases for long stays, which is equivalent to one large hospital and one small hospital closing their doors. She said that, if the Government and the powers that be do not value social care, why should anyone else? She also highlighted the potential for a price regulator, noting that families who are trying to pay top-ups are in desperation, and the need to improve carers' career opportunities.”
“As other Members and I have outlined, the current funding arrangements are unfair and require urgent review. <BR /> <BR />I will now move on to Members' comments. <BR /> <BR />Nuala McAllister proposed the motion, noting that investing in domiciliary and community care is an early intervention action and that our social care workers must be supported. Noting the 2017 'Power to People' report, she said that little has changed since and suggested that consultation is delaying change. She asked, "When will we reach the point of action, and when will people see the benefits?". She mentioned third-party contributions and the impact on families of the outdated guidance. She also highlighted the need for a regional approach to data collection.”
“<BR /> <BR />Greater research into and investment in supported living are another priority outlined by the collaborative forum. A clear definition is needed, along with clarification of the services provided by HSC and community and voluntary services, with the intention of ensuring an interdependent approach to maximise the planning and delivery of social care services. <BR /> <BR />All of that must be urgently progressed. Unfortunately, we have not seen such progress from the Department of Health, as has been pointed out. Other Members raised the risk of the Department and the Minister focusing too much on consultation rather than delivery. In some respects, that has been a problem in the work of the Department and the collaborative forum. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the DUP amendment, which we will support.”
“That includes maximising capacity by testing new models and rolling out innovative digital solutions. <BR /> <BR />We also need urgent progress on the social care workforce strategy, the social care career pathways and the continuous learning framework. We must provide specific support to unpaid carers who, along with paid staff, provide an invaluable service to those most in need. The collaborative forum recommended an expanded carers register for Northern Ireland to provide more information for unpaid carers and to help to improve their outcomes. That should involve consideration of the complete review of the 2006 carers' strategy that our motion calls for, ensuring that the strategy's aims and objectives continue to deliver the necessary decisions to improve the lives and conditions of our carers.”
“<BR /> <BR />Funding shortages remain a significant concern, which provides another example of the unsustainability of our current funding model, as we have discussed on previous occasions in this place. We also need to acknowledge that more people live longer, which, while it is undoubtedly a good thing, increases demand on social care services. We need to adjust how we approach social care to accommodate that. It is estimated that, over the next 20 years, the number of people in Northern Ireland aged 65 and over will grow by nearly 50% and overtake the number of children in Northern Ireland for the first time. To tackle those challenges, we need to see the urgent prioritisation of the recommendations from the social care collaborative forum.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank all those who spoke in the debate. We can agree that it was a constructive discussion on a very important issue. I will touch on the contributions of other Members shortly. <BR /> <BR />We have spent much time discussing the many pressures facing our health and social care services, and social care, specifically, is facing unprecedented pressures. That is a consequence of increasing demand and constraints around funding and workforce. Short- and long-term vacancies are increasing across all aspects of social care. One particular concern is the uncertain future facing many workers who have come from EU nations, following the UK's departure from the EU.”
“The Committee has a programme of regular briefings over the coming session, and the Assembly can be assured that the Committee will hold the Minister and the Department to account on the implementation and delivery of the report's recommendations. As the Chair said in her contribution:”
“That is why we call on the Minister to work collaboratively with statutory partners and relevant stakeholders, including the community and voluntary sector and children and young people with lived experience, to deliver improved and sustainable care for vulnerable children and families and to prioritise the welfare and protection of children. Implementation of the report's recommendations must be co-designed and co-delivered with the community and voluntary sector and those with lived experience. <BR /> <BR />Children's social care services will remain a key priority over the coming period, and we look forward to engaging directly with young people and families over the coming months to hear at first hand their experiences and suggestions on how support could be better provided.”
“<BR /> <BR />We need to stop looking for all the reasons why we cannot move forward and start to identify ways to do better and support those families and their children. We need to make use of the experts in the area, and those are the children, young people and families who are going through the process. They are the people who know what support they need and where the gaps in services are. That is why Professor Jones's report hits the mark. Children, young people and families helped to shape that report and its recommendations. They are the experts.”
“Thank you for that confirmation, Minister. I hope that "the coming weeks" means a short period. <BR /> <BR />One thing that was very clear in all the contributions was the need for us to go upstream and have important early interventions. Many Members noted that again and again. There is no denying the fact that the group of people about whom we are talking is one of the most vulnerable. We, as an Assembly and an Executive, should be judged on how we look after the most vulnerable. We can go over all the reasons and the context as outlined in the Ray Jones report and we can talk about the impact of COVID, the increasing numbers and complexity of cases and the decreasing budgets, but we have to be honest and say that we must do better.”
“The Minister updated us on discussions with other Ministers about having a Minister for children and an arm's-length body that could be the lead children's authority. He also mentioned the former MLA Steven Agnew as being responsible, via a previous private Member's Bill, for the 2015 Act. <BR /> <BR />The Minister mentioned that he intends to bring a paper to the Executive in a couple of weeks on the provision of an ALB, including a call for additional funding. He also outlined the work that his Department is doing to progress reform programmes. Following an intervention from Linda Dillon, he noted concerns highlighted in the report that the private sector is beginning to infiltrate the provision of children's services here in Northern Ireland.”
“He also said that there are no specialist services for families with children with complex needs, which has come up again and again. <BR /> <BR />The Minister of Health addressed us and recognised the need for immediate and sustained action, which all Members will be very glad to hear. He mentioned the correlation between deprivation and the need for social care and acknowledged that childhood poverty rates are rising. <BR /> <BR />The Minister said that there is real potential to deliver the change that is being sought here and mentioned several of the recommendations, including, in particular, the arm's-length body that was proposed. He highlighted the point that such a body requires input from other Departments.”
“He said that the Ray Jones report is a blueprint for transformation and that collaboration is necessary to deliver transformative change. Cara Hunter also mentioned the importance of having a functioning Assembly in order to deliver the recommendations and the change that is necessary. She referred to the impact of poverty on educational attainment. Having met families, she also mentioned respite services. <BR /> <BR />Timothy Gaston, as mentioned by the Speaker, spoke on an issue that was unrelated to the motion and was censored several times. <BR /> <BR />Gerry Carroll said that the services are overwhelmed and in complete meltdown. Some social workers are in dispute with the trusts, and he highlighted the breakdown of talks between the unions and the trusts.”
“Sian said that youth services are necessary to support young people in care and that we must fund general youth services in order to be able to go upstream and prevent problems from arising. <BR /> <BR />Peter Martin recalled his research on childhood experiences of children in care and said that there is a strong evidential basis that early intervention results in better outcomes for children and that such interventions are more cost-effective when we go upstream and provide them early. <BR /> <BR />Robbie Butler said that we stand at a great moment of scrutiny of how we treat children in care. He highlighted very strongly and repeatedly the fact that there were five years of lost opportunities when the Assembly was shut down and children lost out.”
“<BR /> <BR />The lack of respite services came up again and was referenced in the BBC 'Spotlight' programme, ''I Am Not Okay'. I know that many Members and the Minister have met families. Members highlighted differences across trusts in Northern Ireland. Sian Mulholland mentioned that the system intervenes too late, waiting until families are in crisis, and that tackling poverty is an essential first step in order to support families. She said that we need a collaborative approach to provide support for families in need and that consistent support is needed to be able to build relationships with those families. <BR /> <BR />Sian also mentioned that Sure Start should be expanded. Linda Dillon also mentioned that in an intervention.”
“<BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath called for a detailed timeline for the implementation of the recommendations in the Ray Jones report and said that we must equip our social care workforce to care for children in care and work with youth leaders and particularly the community and voluntary sector to get a holistic approach to caring for children in care. <BR /> <BR />Committee member Diane Dodds said that the debate will be meaningless unless we hear of actions from the Minister. She referred to a deficit of 300 foster carers. She spoke of working locally with families in need in her constituency. She mentioned the pressures on foster families and said that, at times, children who are moved between them have poorer outcomes.”
“Committee member Nuala McAllister noted the high rates of children in care in her constituency of North Belfast. She mentioned Shea Taylor, who is an expert by experience. He cited several issues that he wanted to be raised, including the Government's ignorance in creating a social care system and the lack of funding for youth organisations. Nuala also highlighted that many recommendations could be implemented without much cost and encouraged the Minister to look at those. She said that we must show leadership and work at pace. <BR /> <BR />Colin Crawford said that the report's recommendations are ambitious but achievable and that the Assembly must implement them.”
“We can clearly say that, without your ongoing work and support to children and families, we would be looking at a complete breakdown in the services provided. I ask that you continue to advocate on behalf of children, young people and families in that way. <BR /> <BR />Our Committee Chair, Liz Kimmins, said that pressures on social care are systemic and endemic. She noted the growing demand for services and the worrying vacancy rates in the service. Committee member Alan Robinson noted that it was a moral duty to legislate so that no children are left behind, and that families must have access to services. He stated that the pace of reform needs to quicken, and asked the Minister for a clear timeline for enacting the recommendations.”
“On behalf of the Committee, I thank all the Members for their contributions and the Minister for his response. I look forward to continued engagement with the Minister and the Department on implementing the recommendations of the Ray Jones report. <BR /> <BR />I pay tribute to Professor Jones for his invaluable work on the review. He ensured that the report was centred on the best interests of children, young people and families. I thank those young people and families who were directly involved in the formulation of the report. My hope is that your work on producing the report and its recommendations will result in changes to policy, practice and procedure that will benefit people who are, or will be, in your position for decades to come. I thank the community and voluntary sector for all the work that it does in that area.”
“The Minister has talked a lot about raising public confidence. Will he review the composition of the inquiries implementation programme board to ensure that there can be a level of confidence from the public and the families who have been affected? Quite simply, it could be perceived in this case that we are asking people to mark their own homework.”
“Following yesterday's debates, we know that mental health service provision across Northern Ireland is very inconsistent. Will the Minister commit to ensuring consistency across all trusts or enabling patients to access trusts, no matter where they live?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. I am always very happy to hear about the Minister's going to Larne. Can he give any further details on what impact those actions are having on that cruel trade?”
“I welcome the Minister's statement. We all know that reform of the health service is long overdue and has stalled due to the political instability in this place. The Bengoa report was in 2016, and it described a "burning platform". We should have been eight years into a 10-year programme of reform, but, instead, we have let it burn and burn. <BR /> <BR />The Minister mentioned that there has been clinical involvement in this document and this consultation, and I believe that there was a pre-consultation over the summer involving stakeholders. I ask the Minister to outline some of the feedback that was received from that and how that has fed into the document that will be given to the general public.”
“Fundamental reform of our health and social care sector is necessary to ensure that our public services are equipped to deal with mental health crises and to deal with individuals in a caring and compassionate manner. As I have mentioned, organisations are fulfilling responsibilities that should be completed by the Department and local trusts, but, in some cases, they cannot do so due to the unprecedented pressures on our health service, specifically in relation to waiting lists. We cannot continue with the status quo. We must do what we can to support our community and voluntary sector and urgently reform how we deal with mental health services.”
“In addition to the obvious need for institutional reform here, we need to reform how we approach our public finances and our health service, seeking to reduce the costs of division across every Department and reforming the mental health sector to prioritise early intervention and prevention. We need a collaborative approach between the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance. Together, they should work to identify the necessary funding to ensure that valuable community and voluntary sector organisations can continue to provide those essential services. <BR /> <BR />Funding alone will not fix the issues facing the community and voluntary sector.”
“How can that be actioned and implemented when the sector is struggling to survive? <BR /> <BR />That also calls into question the sustainability of our existing funding model. We cannot fully address that issue in the Assembly, but the new UK Government and the House of Commons must consider it. We all know that Northern Ireland is underfunded relative to need. The Fiscal Council estimated that that underfunding has been by £300 million to £400 million per year since 2022 versus what we would receive if an appropriate fiscal floor was in place. However, we cannot just turn to Westminster to solve our problems.”
“We also need to acknowledge that many brilliant community and voluntary organisations, whose hard work we all regularly see in our constituencies, have, in many respects, filled the gap left by an absence of political leadership and, in the case of the Department of Health, a failure to embrace necessary reform and transformation. <BR /> <BR />The loss of funding has reduced the likelihood of the Department's mental health strategy being implemented. For example, action 17 in the strategy requires the Department to:”
“It is important to remember that that decision was taken in the absence of Ministers, because there were no Ministers in 2023 as a consequence of the one-party veto over the operation of the Assembly and the Executive. It is worrying that that veto remains in place; it has been used by both the main parties and therefore could be used again. We need only look at the 2023 Budget and its devastating impact on core grant funding as evidence of why that cannot be allowed to happen again. As Mark mentioned, we need to move to multi-year budgets in the health service, but, first, we need to secure a multi-year Government.”
“Community and voluntary groups in Northern Ireland and their hard-working staff and volunteers deserve to be acknowledged, and it is right that we use this debate and others to do so. I know of many such groups in East Antrim, and I am sure that other MLAs will know groups in their areas that do fantastic work to support people in need. <BR /> <BR />The 50% reduction in core grant funding in 2023 was extremely damaging and led to staff redundancies, a reduction in services and some organisations no longer being able to operate at all. At the time, a Children in Northern Ireland survey of core-funded organisations showed that 62% were at risk of collapse if the grant scheme was not restored.”
“I thank my SDLP colleagues for bringing the motion, and I reiterate the positive decision of the official Opposition to use their three Opposition day motions to focus on health, especially mental health. <BR /> <BR />As was highlighted in the previous debate, it is clear that community and voluntary sector organisations provide an invaluable resource through the provision of mental health services for the most vulnerable in Northern Ireland. That is particularly important here because, as was raised in the previous debate, we are continually dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and its impact of poor mental health. As I and other Members mentioned during the previous debate, it is concerning that more lives have been lost to suicide here since 1998 than were killed during the Troubles.”
“Thanks to the Minister for her answer. Will the Minister give some detail on the scope of her Department's sustainability strategy?”
“<BR /> <BR />As the chair of the all-party group on addiction and dual diagnosis, I am hugely concerned about the level of addiction and the number of deaths from drug overdose in our communities, as mentioned by Órlaithí Flynn. We need to progress to a harm reduction model, and we need to progress an overdose prevention centre in Northern Ireland to help to save the lives of people who are using drugs. In short, we know that we are in a crisis, and we need to focus on solutions.”
“The study showed that 9·3% of respondents experienced depressive symptoms before pregnancy, 12·2% during pregnancy, 17·7% three months after the birth of their first child and 12·8% a year postpartum. Yet, many women were not asked about feeling depressed or low by their GP, midwife or public health nurse. <BR /> <BR />Clearly, much needs to be done to support women suffering from mental health conditions related to childbirth, and, while we recognise the progress of delivering perinatal mental health services across all five trusts in Northern Ireland, we will continue to push for the delivery of an inpatient mother-and-baby unit in Northern Ireland.”
“That is being commenced, but agreement is being sought on the best way forward. As we will no doubt hear later, many of those community services also rely on funding, which, as we know, is very constrained. <BR /> <BR />Many Members will be aware of postnatal depression and perinatal mental health, and I commend Claire Sugden for speaking so openly on the issue this morning. Depressive symptoms are very common during and after pregnancy, and the recent study of maternal health and maternal morbidity (MAMMI) in Ireland by Trinity College in Dublin was discussed at last week's North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association meeting, which was the first since 2016. I congratulate the Speaker on his involvement in making that important meeting happen.”
“The lack of data on mental health services remains a huge issue, as highlighted by a number of organisations, including the Office for Statistics Regulation, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and, most recently, the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee. We need to know that the decisions being made and taken through these strategies represent the best value for money and are improving necessary mental health services. <BR /> <BR />Overlong mental health waiting lists result in people who need support very quickly not getting it, and, inevitably, their condition gets a lot worse. We know that much mental health support comes from the community and voluntary sector. Action 17 of the mental health strategy is to:”
“Restricting access to means is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of suicide, and, as part of the Protect Life 2 strategy, the Minister of Health must work collaboratively, particularly with the Minister for Infrastructure, to identify and progress any urgent work to prevent further loss of life to suicide. <BR /> <BR />Targets to address the prevalence of anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions must also be introduced by the Department of Health, along with actions that can be taken to address and reduce those conditions. They should address all relevant age groups, with particular consideration given to children and young people and to older people. We need to see clear evidence that these strategies and actions are having a positive impact on the delivery of services.”