Robbie Butler: Legacy of trauma and conflict must be tackled

The over arching theme for this year’s congress is ‘Breaking Down Walls and Building Bridges’.

The heading is incredibly appropriate for Northern Ireland and its host city Londonderry.

I especially welcome the fact that one of the key topics that will be considered during the week is the legacy of trauma and conflict in the Province.

Northern Ireland has by far the highest rate of poor mental health in the United Kingdom.

Tragically almost every day a person here takes their own life.

Whilst at long last we now have a suicide prevention strategy, the target to reduce suicide rates locally by 10% by 2024 is simply nowhere near enough.

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the All Party Group on Suicide Prevention in Magee Campus alongside my party colleague Mike Nesbitt.

One of the key points that I raised was the fact that efforts to tackle suicide were being hampered by the ongoing roll-out of single year budgets.

Our health service, and the staff within it, are crying out for political leadership and financial stability.

At present they are shamefully receiving neither of those things.

This conference will attract hundreds of the foremost experts in suicide prevention from across the globe.

In my opinion, its presence in Northern Ireland is largely thanks to the incredible efforts of Professor Siobhan O’Neill from Ulster University.

It’s also a major boost to the city of Londonderry as it will be the largest ever conference hosted in it.

The city was up against stiff competition as the other short-listed international destinations were Vienna, Rome and Piran in Slovenia.

• Robbie Butler is an MLA for Lagan Valley and the Ulster Unionist Party spokesman for mental health