The motion being discussed, which Inspire had helped to draft and which Órlaithí Flynn MLA (and colleagues) then submitted for debate, follows on from the launch of Inspire’s If It’s Okay campaign in March 2024. The motion also stems from the work of our Service User Reference Forum, which has set political engagement and amplification of lived experience as key objectives.
The goal of the campaign was simple. It aimed to tackle the negative impact of shame on those living with severe mental health conditions.
After all, mental illness can affect anyone, no matter who they are or where they come from. Feeling shame means that many people hide mental ill health, even from family members and close friends. This can stop a person from getting the help and support they need, leave them feeling alone and lead them to avoid opportunities so many of us otherwise take for granted. Put simply, as the text of the Assembly motion states, ‘no person experiencing mental ill health should feel any shame due to their illness’.
A group of people who use Inspire’s services made their way to Stormont to watch the proceedings as they happened and share their experiences with elected representatives.
Opening the debate, Órlaithí Flynn said:
“For me… stigma can often only be understood or felt if it is experienced at first hand, either where you have been a victim of it or where you have witnessed that type of discrimination against a loved one. I think that it is difficult for each of us individually to reflect on that, because I think that you always assume that you would never be the person to make someone else feel that way — you would never be the person to try to make someone feel discriminated against or stigmatised — but it is so easily done. I said earlier that it can be so subtle, and it can be so subtle that sometimes people do not even realise that they are doing it. My own lived experience is through family members who have been diagnosed with quite serious mental illnesses…
“We all have a responsibility to challenge any discrimination and stigma that we might witness or any negative comments that we might hear. We have to send out a united message that discriminating against, stigmatising and shaming, whether we mean to or not, people who are living with an mental illness is wrong. As elected representatives, we share a responsibility to listen to those with lived experience of mental illness, champion their needs and promote education and general awareness through public campaigns. We should not accept such biased attitudes as the norm in the modern-day world, as they are, at the very least, hurtful, and, at the very worst, harmful, to some of the most vulnerable groups of people.
“The first step towards making a societal change is to bring awareness to unwanted behaviour or attitudes, which is the intention of the motion.”
Supporting the motion’s call for full funding of the Mental Health Strategy 2021-2031, Alan Robinson MLA said:
“It will depend on us all challenging outdated beliefs and stereotypes that fuel stigma, which is why action 1 under theme 1 of the mental health strategy is important… The success of the strategy requires a coordinated, sustained effort that involves not only our health service but schools, workplaces, communities, the media and the entire Executive. There is no doubt that reducing stigma is a long-term project. We need to normalise conversations about mental health to ensure that, when someone is struggling, they feel able to speak out without fear of judgement or rejection. The Department of Health and the Executive must continue to ensure that mental health is seen as a medical condition and not some kind of character flaw. People should not be defined by their illness.”
Later, Danny Donnelly MLA cited Inspire’s If It’s Okay campaign:
“Unfortunately, stigma persists across our society in respect of mental health challenges, including in our political system and sometimes even in the Assembly. All parties in the Assembly should improve their efforts to support friends and colleagues who are experiencing mental ill health. We often hear the phrase “It’s OK not to be OK”, but many people living with long-term conditions sometimes feel judged, isolated or discriminated against. In 2024, evidence from Inspire… highlighted the difficulties that people who experience mental ill health face. For example, 64% of respondents said that they felt shame because of their mental ill health. What we say about mental health matters. That applies particularly to those of us who are in a public role: for example, in the Assembly…
“… Mental health services in Northern Ireland have faced a difficult period over the past few years. In particular, that is a consequence of the political instability that prevented any decisions being taken in this place in five out of the past eight years. That includes the absence of multi-year budgets, which are essential for long-term planning in our health service.”
In responding to the motion, Minister of Health Mike Nesbitt stressed that the Strategy could only move forward properly when given the funding it needs:
“I am looking for a strong partnership approach, but it will need significant funding to progress all these plans. Discussions are under way with my departmental digital mental health forum to identify potential avenues to take all that forward. If we genuinely want to achieve the required improvements in our mental health services and ensure that the services that we provide can meet current and future demands, mental health services need real and sustained funding to ensure full delivery of the mental health strategy. As I said yesterday, for this year’s action plan, we should have £42 million: we have £5·9 million.
“I will begin to conclude by encouraging all Members to support my efforts to achieve that outcome. In answer to the motion, I am open to all discussions, ideas and proposals that enable us to provide better mental health services for people across Northern Ireland. I want to deliver anti-stigma and anti-discrimination public awareness and education campaigns. Where collaboration with other Departments or community and voluntary sector partners can achieve that, we must take those opportunities. Again, I stress the incredibly valuable role played by community and voluntary sector organisations.”
A full transcript of the debate is available here. The debate broke for lunch at 1pm and started again later in the afternoon. The transcript for the second half of the debate can be accessed here. A video recording of the session can be viewed here, at 2.10.18. The latter section of the debate begins at 4.45.23.