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.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,031 lines we hold for Danny Donnelly, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 21.
“<BR /> <BR />Jon Burrows, previously a PSNI officer, said that the PSNI was under-resourced by the political class and that it was always dealing with vulnerability. He said that —.”
“People do not remain static on waiting lists, as I am sure that the Minister is aware. They tend to get worse when on a waiting list. While waiting for care, people tend to deteriorate and get sicker. We need to see vulnerable people getting the right care at the right time. <BR /> <BR />Connie Egan said that this is not about removing the PSNI entirely from mental health calls but removing them from inappropriate calls. Vulnerable people need to be put first. <BR /> <BR />Doug Beattie agreed with the approach but wanted to hear from the Minister of Justice on this. He said that he too had been touched by suicide — I am very sorry to hear that, Doug — and said that it is a societal issue. He also highlighted the need for a joined-up approach.”
“<BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath said that it was impossible to place the police in a situation when they are making clinical decisions at a roadside and that it existed because of gaps in the system at the minute. Pathways are fragmented for people in need. Right Care, Right Person does not need to be invented, because it already exists. <BR /> <BR />Órlaithí Flynn said that it was not sustainable or acceptable that the PSNI had become the point of contact for people in mental health crisis. It is not fair on the PSNI, and it is not fair on the person who is in crisis. <BR /> <BR />Cheryl Brownlee said that the PSNI cannot continue to act as a service of last resort. She referred to the PAC report on mental health in Northern Ireland, which stated that 17,500 people are on waiting lists, and said that that was unacceptable.”
“She asked a question that I very much agree with: who is the right person to care for someone who is in a mental health crisis? That is the person who should respond. Linda also said that Right Care, Right Person is a clear and compassionate approach. <BR /> <BR />Alan Chambers said that the Assembly was casting broad criticisms over healthcare workers' heads and that the motion was a "political punch". I disagree entirely with that. The motion is not about blaming Health. Alan also said that we brought forward the motion for political reasons. That is not the case at all. The issue has been talked about for years. The PSNI and the Policing Board have lobbied for the Right Care, Right Person model, and it is already functioning in other parts of the UK.”
“She mentioned the four-week survey that highlighted the fact that 8,000 hours of PSNI time were spent on mental health calls, but she stated that that is not the fault of front-line healthcare staff. <BR /> <BR />Keith Buchanan introduced the DUP amendment, which we support, with a few, small tweaks. He said that it was not an appropriate use of resources and highlighted the fact that waiting with a patient in A&E for 14 hours in order to get a mental health assessment was not a good use of police resources. He also said that Northern Ireland spends less per head on mental health services than anywhere else in the UK, despite having the highest levels of mental health illness. <BR /> <BR />Linda Dillon said that PSNI officers are not trained or resourced to deal with mental health crises.”
“Right Care, Right Person is not complicated. It is about providing appropriate care, and that means that the right professional responds to a right crisis. If we implemented it property, we could free up police time, with more than one million police hours saved per year, reducing risk for individuals and making the system safer and more humane for everybody involved. <BR /> <BR />The motion is not about blaming anyone on the front line. It is about facing up to what is happening and accepting that we cannot continue like this. People in crisis deserve proper care. Police officers deserve to focus on policing, and the Department of Health needs to implement Right Care, Right Person. <BR /> <BR />Nuala McAllister opened the debate and asked for clarity on the full implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2016.”
“Departments are already stretched to their limit, and we need joined-up working. One example of joined-up working that we on the Health Committee saw was when we visited the ambulance control centre. The South Eastern Trust and the Ambulance Service have worked together on a pilot scheme to redirect mental health calls in order to make sure that patients get the appropriate care that they need and talk to the appropriate person. That has reduced mental health admissions by 40%. <BR /> <BR />We have a mental health strategy that could drive change and use early intervention to avoid crisis and that could be used to address one of the biggest workforce challenges that Northern Ireland faces, yet 80% of it remains shelved, and only 16% has been funded since 2021. That is just asking for the crisis to continue.”
“In 2013, the Northern Ireland Audit Office reported that mental health conditions were the leading cause of sickness absence across the entire public sector, including the trusts, and it warned that that long-term pattern was putting huge pressures on staffing levels. That was 12 years ago. We have not suddenly discovered that problem. Between 2018 and 2022, the Royal College of Nursing found exactly the same trend: mental health was the main reason for sickness absence. None of this is new. What is new is the scale of the crisis, and that is only going to continue to grow. <BR /> <BR />On funding, as has been mentioned several times today, Health receives more than half the Executive's budget and is already £100 million into next year's allocation. I do not underestimate the challenges facing the Minister.”
“They involve people who need mental health care, but instead of getting the mental health support that they need, they get a police response, because there is no one else available. I have seen many PSNI officers spend long periods in noisy A&E departments with people in crisis, and that is totally inappropriate. I agree with Trevor that that is the bit of the job that they do not feel that they should be doing, and it is not their favourite bit. <BR /> <BR />I could have guessed what the Minister's response was going to be today to the calls to fund a mental health strategy: workforce shortages, funding pressures, competing priorities and no magic overnight fix. Yes, those are real issues, but they cannot be used as a catch-all forever. If workforce shortages is the point, we need to look honestly at the evidence.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am not a member of the Policing Board, but I am an NHS nurse, so I declare an interest. <BR /> <BR />I reassure the Minister and Members that this is not a "political punch" motion. It is disrespectful to people who have been in mental health crisis and have been harmed to suggest that it is. The heart of the motion is a straightforward point: when someone is in mental health crisis, they should be met by trained mental health professionals, not police officers who, through no fault of their own, are being sent to situations that require specialist clinical care. Right now, that is exactly what is happening. As Members have noted, the PSNI is taking more than 100 concern for safety calls every day, and almost none of those calls involves crime.”
“Has the Department assessed whether the current delirium provision meets the projected demand for an ageing population? What changes are planned to address any gaps?”
“<BR /> <BR />The whole event will have been recorded, and I encourage all Members to watch the recording. It lasts about two hours and is a very good debate. It will be followed by a report, which will have recommendations for us on the need to progress changes to our society to make it more open, accessible and inclusive.”
“I want to take a minute to mention a fantastic event that happened in the Chamber on Friday. I attended the Disabled People's Parliament with my colleague Kellie Armstrong, and I thank the organisers, the Assembly staff and all who spoke. The event was chaired by the Principal Deputy Speaker, and everybody involved heard a debate on the impact of laws and policies on deaf and disabled people in Northern Ireland, particularly the barriers that disabled people face, whether in education, employment, transport, health or anything else. A range of members representing multiple disabilities made very passionate speeches. I have no time to go into them all in detail, but they were really strong, and it was a fantastic event. The debate was responded to by two Ministers: the Minister of Health and the Minister for Communities.”
“I refer specifically to the right to be forgotten, which was highlighted recently at the all-party group on cancer, chaired by Stewart Dickson. That principle ensures that cancer survivors can return to a productive life without facing financial discrimination just because they have been through a serious illness. Research suggests that that should be after five years. <BR /> <BR />There is so much work to be done to restore faith in our systems and deliver for those who have faced or are facing cancer. We need to start somewhere. This is our opportunity to stop managing decline and start building something that works.”
“Previously, we heard in the Chamber about the sad death of young mum Catherine Sherry, who was severely immunocompromised, after travelling to London for treatment that is available in Dublin. Reports of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute and a cancer summit endorse the plan, highlighting the unique potential to leverage health data to save lives, drive innovation and become a global leader in oncology research. <BR /> <BR />We must seize opportunities that allow us to move away from the two decades of failure and give us the chance to provide better services, better outcomes and a system that the people of Northern Ireland can rely on in their time of need. That must go hand in hand with addressing the dignity of survivors. We must also ensure that a person who has survived cancer is not discriminated against by other systems.”
“Embracing an all-Ireland approach offers the opportunity to improve the availability of services. Recently, I attended the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association plenary session, where one of the topics under discussion was cross-border cancer care. We heard that, while our regions operate distinct systems, our progress and challenges in cancer care are strikingly similar. Crucially, cross-border collaboration is not a theory but a proven model. Existing successes, including the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin, radiotherapy sharing, joint research and integrated care pathways, demonstrate that cooperation is a feasible and essential path to building resilient cancer services for all citizens on this island.”
“She had been red-flagged by her GP and told that she would have a 10-week wait for an urgent breast assessment. Imagine the stress of that 10 weeks, knowing that the target is two weeks. <BR /> <BR />Often, we hear the phrase, "Change does not happen overnight", but neither does that kind of neglect and dilapidation. It is a pattern of continually losing sight of real priorities. The evidence is unambiguous. The question now is not whether the system is failing but what we intend to do about it. What we need now is focus — focus on early diagnosis, focus on shortening treatment waits, focus on building the workforce that we require and focus on ensuring that investment is aligned with need. <BR /> <BR />Delivering better cancer outcomes is achievable.”
“In 2008, the Department of Health set a target that 95% of patients must begin treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer. In June 2008, we were close, achieving an 88% compliance rate. By June 2025, that figure had collapsed to just 33%. In 2008, the target was that 100% of breast cancer patients would be seen within 14 days following an urgent referral. In June 2008, it was delivered for 99% of patients. By December 2024, that promise was broken for the majority of patients, with only 30% being seen within the target time. We have heard of the risks of delayed diagnosis. Those are not just statistics but stark evidence of almost 20 years of systemic failure. The people who are affected are our friends, family members and neighbours. Recently, I spoke to a constituent who is a young mum.”
“I offer my warmest congratulations to every dancer who was involved and to the teachers and parents who give so much time and care to help them thrive.”
“Grace lives with mild learning disabilities and had struggled to find her place until she discovered dance, which makes her success all the more meaningful. Erin Millar won the under-14s open world title. Melissa Galway became the under-16s open champion, winning her second world title. She also achieved nine GCSE A* grades at St Killian's College, Carnlough, this year. Jodi McCourt won the under-21 ladies' open title and has not been beaten in any competition in the past three years. <BR /> <BR />The academy has been running for 10 years and is led by two dedicated teachers. It has about 30 dancers aged between three and 21. What they have built gives children and young people the space to grow in confidence and talent, and their results in Galway show how far that has taken them.”
“I recognise the success of Antrim Coast Dance Academy in Larne at the recent World Irish Dance Championships in Salthill, Galway. The academy brought 27 dancers to the event, and every one of them placed in the top 10 in their category. That alone says a lot about the hard work and commitment of those young people and the support that they receive from their families and teachers. <BR /> <BR />Seven dancers from the academy came home as world title winners. Eva Quinlan became the under-9s intermediate world champion. Bailey Smith won the under-11s primary world title. Lacey Mitchell took the under-11s intermediate title after only one year of dancing, which is an incredible achievement for anyone who is starting out. Grace McKeown became the under-14s intermediate world champion.”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. What long-term impact might those projects have on those areas?”
“Minister, you have just said that the arts sector is not reflective: what support are you giving to ensure that it is reflective?”
“It is not credible to ask our hard-working care workers to accept that outcome while expecting to reduce waiting times and relieve winter pressures. Those workers are vital to keeping people independent, preventing hospital admissions and easing pressure on acute care. Excluding them is not just unfair; it is strategically unsound.”
“By refusing to fund proper pay for those workers, the Minister is, effectively, undermining the very reforms that he keeps talking about. The whole idea of "shift left" is to invest in community support so that fewer people end up in hospital. However, if care workers continue to leave the sector because the pay does not match the responsibility, capacity in the community will fall even further. That means more delayed discharges, more pressure on acute beds and more avoidable admissions. <BR /> <BR />We are witnessing a fragmented approach to pay, poor planning and a refusal to address part of the workforce, which will have huge impacts elsewhere on the system. Calling that "unprepared" would be generous; it is a repeated cycle of stopping one crisis while creating another.”
“We are now in a position in which next year's Health budget has been compromised in advance, but care workers, who provide daily front-line support to many vulnerable people in our communities, have been left out. That raises clear questions: how can we justify spending next year's money on this year's pay deal while telling an essential part of the workforce that there is nothing for it, and why were pay uplifts not a priority for the Minister from the very beginning? <BR /> <BR />The Department has said that funding to support the real living wage this year is not being made available. That contradicts commitments to stabilise the sector and to shift left, and it flies in the face of the repeated warnings from unions and providers about low pay driving chronic staffing shortages.”
“I, too, wish to raise serious concerns about the decision to exclude independent-sector care workers from the latest pay uplift and, equally, about the way in which the entire package has been managed. The Minister has confirmed that £209 million has been allocated to pay uplifts following the recommendations of the review bodies, but, to deliver that package, he has already committed £100 million from next year's budget. That is a significant decision to plug an immediate gap. Despite that extraordinary step, the award excludes the independent-sector workforce, which provides essential home care and social care services on behalf of the system.”
“I thank the Minister. Minister, could I ask you for a bit more of your reaction to how the DUP, including the deputy First Minister, voted against yesterday's motion on an independent environmental protection agency?”
“If we want a sustainable system, the shift must happen upstream. Investment in community care must become the foundation of winter planning rather than being an afterthought. There is nothing in the winter plan that will significantly increase capacity in the community, which is where it needs to be. <BR /> <BR />We support the motion sincerely. I urge the Minister to radically rethink how he can improve patient flow at all stages in the process and to do everything that he can to increase capacity in the community so that patients can be discharged in a timely manner, which is key to easing the extreme pressures on the health service this winter.”
“<BR /> <BR />In response to another question, the Minister shared that, on 13 October 2025, there were almost 400 medically fit patients either awaiting care packages or care placements across the trusts. That is 400 beds that could not be accessed by patients stuck in our overcrowded A&Es, and that was before the pressures began. Maybe the Minister can tell us what the figures are now.”
“The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) called last year's plan "too little, too late", and it has said that it remains unconvinced that this year's plan will translate into meaningful action to reduce waiting times that it has called "dangerous". The RCEM used the standard mortality ratio as a method of working out the number of excess deaths associated with long waits in emergency departments. It calculated the figure in Scotland last year to be 800 excess deaths. In 2022, the figure in Northern Ireland was over 1,400. Our population is a third of that of Scotland, and pressures here have increased since 2022. I can only guess that that figure has increased. I urge the Minister to commit the Department to recording and publishing the data so that we can assess the situation and understand the impact in real terms.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Minister told the Assembly that that delay would not have an impact on staff morale and that the plan was well ahead of last year's, yet, when the Health Committee received a 10-page, mainly pictorial report, it listed moral injury on staff as one of its major red lines, all of which were breached in the summer. The plan was published three weeks earlier than in the previous year, with few noticeable differences, not to mention that there was no consultation with key stakeholders such as the Royal College of Nursing or the British Medical Association on the final plan prior to its publication. <BR /> <BR />This is about real people and loss of life that could be prevented.”
“I thank the Opposition for tabling the motion, which we will support. Like other contributors to the debate, I am happy that healthcare workers will get their pay uplift, albeit at the end of February 2026, and that pay uplifts will be prioritised next year. <BR /> <BR />I feel a bit like a broken record when talking about winter preparedness. We first heard about this year's plan in early January, when the Minister was called to an urgent meeting of the Health Committee to answer questions about the extreme pressures that we faced last winter. There was talk of a blank page, a big conversation to be had and the promise of an August plan. September came and went, and the plan was not published until mid-October. I might have been able to accept that delay had there been any meaningful change.”
“Minister, you mentioned the new children's hospital. Are you aware of any space that has been identified in the plans for the new children's hospital?”
“It is important that the services are co-designed with families and organisations with specialist knowledge in the area. <BR /> <BR />I have spoken to Erin about the issue, and I would be happy to meet anyone affected by the lack of provision for disability in public services. It should go without saying that disabled people in Northern Ireland deserve better protections and that equality should never be an option. I fully support this debate.”
“As Erin states in her campaign message, the experience of A&E can be overwhelming for neurotypical children, but, for children with high sensory needs, the bright and noisy environment can cause serious dysregulation, which can have a massive impact on their health, especially considering that sensory meltdown can lead to increased body temperature, vomiting and self-harming behaviours. As Cheryl highlighted, that may put parents off attending A&E and result in the sick child not getting timely treatment. <BR /> <BR />The Health Committee recently heard a presentation from a provider of mobile sensory rooms about the benefits to young people and their families in those environments. The Committee wrote to the Minister, and maybe he will refer to it. We recently received a response from him that states:”
“As was mentioned, disability protections in Northern Ireland are behind those of the rest of the UK and Ireland and are mainly based on outdated legislation from 30 years ago that is older than the Assembly itself — an Assembly that, in six of the past 10 years, has been impacted by shutdowns and political instability. A consequence of that instability has been the retrogression of disability rights in a number of areas. <BR /> <BR />The sensory room is necessary for children who have sensory processing difficulties, including those with autism or ADHD.”
“To ensure that the voices and lived experience of disabled people in Northern Ireland are embedded and to go beyond symbolic gestures or box ticking, the consultation process has been intentionally extended to allow for as much involvement as possible. <BR /> <BR />When I looked at Erin's campaign for the installation of a sensory room around the A&E waiting area, I was struck by what I had heard so many times throughout that consultation process about the need to explain or prove a disability. That should never be the case. There is dismissal, misunderstanding and disregard for the frustrations of a lifetime of sub-par rights or considerations, which are often met with apathy when raised. Adjustments or specific requirements on the basis of disability are treated as optional.”
“I fully believe that we need to give our public bodies the tools to understand that something like that is about more than just a bottom line on a budget paper and that it is about equal participation in society and the ability to access the same rights as everyone else. It is not an optional addition. As the proposer stated, it is not a "nice to have". <BR /> <BR />It is incredibly important to me personally, because, for the past year, I have been working on consultations with the disability community for the purpose of bringing forward a Bill that would put the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) into the fabric of public policy and decision-making in Northern Ireland and intends to build a foundation for progress in situations exactly like the one that we are discussing.”
“I thank the Member for tabling this incredibly important topic for debate and bringing attention to the lived experience of disabled children and their families across Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I got an email from Erin as well, and I wrote to the trust to ask it what services were currently available in Belfast Trust hospitals to support children with sensory needs who attend children's A&E and whether there were any plans to implement such services. The trust replied that, while it understood the requirement for that type of space and its impact, it was awaiting confirmation of funding to purchase a mobile sensory pod, so, currently, there was no specific area.”
“He said that the issue raises serious questions about the management of the screeners and the system as a whole. <BR /> <BR />It has been a sensitive and powerful debate, and I thank all the Members who took part in it.”
“He highlighted the importance of the cervical screening programme and said that there have been significant improvements, including implementation of all the recommendations in the report and the move to HPV and cytology testing as the second line. He encouraged women to take up any opportunities for screening and highlighted that 96% of the women in the review needed no follow-up. The Minister also talked about the three reports that will be jointly published by the PHA and the Southern Trust on Wednesday, highlighting that he had asked for one to be held back so that all three could be published together. <BR /> <BR />In his winding-up speech on the amendment, Alan Robinson commended the Ladies with Letters campaign but said that the women feel no further forward.”
“If the Minister was really committed to women's health, he would commission a public inquiry. Michelle also quoted Lynsey Courtney's mum. <BR /> <BR />Sinéad McLaughlin thanked Members for sharing their personal stories. She recalled supporting a constituent at her disclosure meeting and SAI meeting and highlighted the additional damage done to women by a system that should have protected them. <BR /> <BR />Timothy Gaston highlighted the necessity of a public inquiry. <BR /> <BR />Minister Nesbitt listed the meetings that he had had with the women, their spouses and the Ladies with Letters group.”
“<BR /> <BR />Colin McGrath highlighted that the trust between women and the health service has been shaken to the core, and he encouraged the Minister to state his threshold for holding a full public inquiry if the reports show that there were failings. <BR /> <BR />Aoife Finnegan spoke of the importance of reassurance and rebuilding public confidence in the screening programme. <BR /> <BR />Diane Forsythe talked of the crisis in public confidence and said that it is vital that we see openness and transparency across the health service. She also bravely shared her personal account of worrying about test results. <BR /> <BR />Michelle Guy also powerfully shared her personal journey with this, highlighting that the mistakes were not abstract; they were avoidable and life-altering.”
“<BR /> <BR />Diane Dodds noted the call from the Ladies With Letters campaign for a full statutory inquiry and the actions of the whistle-blower in the Southern Trust, which, undoubtedly, saved lives. She also talked about the failings in the management of the screeners and the anomalies in the awarding of the contracts. <BR /> <BR />Linda Dillon described the deep-rooted failure to value women's health equally. She asked whether delays and backlogs had been created by the recent sending of thousands of HPV tests to Gateshead. The Minister covered that. She also encouraged women to continue to attend cervical smears and to attend their GPs if they have any symptoms of ovarian cancer. <BR /> <BR />Alan Chambers encouraged MLAs to approach the reports responsibly and highlighted that screening saves lives.”
“Its members are calling for a statutory public inquiry with full powers to establish the full, unvarnished facts of what happened. It is undeniable that the cost of inaction has gone too far, and the Minister must establish a statutory public inquiry in order to uncover the full truth, establish accountability and ensure that such failures never arise again. That is the very least that women in Northern Ireland deserve. <BR /> <BR />I will highlight a few of the comments made by Members during the debate. My colleague Nuala McAllister proposed the motion and highlighted the effect of the recall on the confidence that women have in the screening process. She said that concerns were raised as early as 2019, yet no action was taken until 2021.”
“As my colleague Michelle Guy, who has worked closely with Ladies With Letters, said recently, a public inquiry is the only way to begin rebuilding trust in that essential service. The Ladies With Letters group believes the:”
“Lynsey Courtney died in 2018, aged 30, following a misread smear. Her family met the trust and asked whether the screeners' work could be rechecked. In the minutes of that meeting, senior doctors admitted that no re-examinations had taken place and questioned why such action would be taken. Like other Members, I have had the privilege of meeting Lynsey's parents, Ron and Sandra, and I was moved by their quiet dignity in campaigning for the truth about their daughter's death. No words will ever express the utter tragedy of Lynsey's death and the possibility that it was preventable. <BR /> <BR />The relief of an all-clear result no longer carries the same meaning. We cannot let that fear, coupled with a lack of action to investigate, undermine participation in screening. If we do, more lives will be at risk.”
“She was told by doctors that, if her results had been caught earlier, she would have been treated sooner, which could have helped save her life. She was told to think of her disease as "one of those things", not her fault or anyone else's. When Erin realised that she could have been diagnosed earlier, she said:”
“Women across Northern Ireland are understandably anxious. They will be asking, "Will my smear test be accurate? Can I trust the results?". <BR /> <BR />The human cost of the failures has been devastating. Misread smear tests resulted in at least eight women developing cervical cancer, and two women lost their lives. That is not just an unfortunate statistic: those people did the right thing, took the right steps and were given a death sentence due to serious failings in our health service. <BR /> <BR />Many of us will have heard the names Lynsey Courtney and Erin Harbinson throughout the debate. Over the course of a decade, Erin had three cervical cancer screenings, all of which gave her the all-clear. All of them were incorrect. Erin died in August last year, aged 44.”