Northlands cuts amid an addiction crisis ‘destroying communities’ in Derry ‘shameful’, says Durkan - video Dailymotion

Northlands cuts amid an addiction crisis ‘destroying communities’ in Derry ‘shameful’, says Durkan

Transcript

00:00There is palpable outrage across Derry and beyond at the disgraceful decision to cut

00:06core funding for the Northern Centre. It's shameful that executive parties, all of us,

00:12stood here in February speaking passionately about the impact of the addiction crisis in

00:18the North West, enveloping families and destroying communities. Yet weeks later,

00:25core funding for this addiction treatment centre was removed. Furthermore, the £1 million promised

00:33for Northlands in NDNA remains undelivered. Let me be clear, this is not just about numbers

00:41on a balance sheet. This is a lifeline for individuals battling addiction. It's a light

00:47in the depths of darkness that so many families have been dragged into. Cutting funding doesn't

00:54just undermine the services and support that they provide, a service that they're actually

01:00commissioned to provide by the Department of Health, but it undermines the people who depend on them.

01:07I speak today not only as an elected representative who has seen the value of this service and centre

01:15to my constituents, but as someone who has felt the impact of it myself. Lives aren't saved in hollow

01:24words and empty promises. The individuals at rock bottom with nowhere left to turn deserve leadership

01:30from the executive. The excuse of budget pressure doesn't always hold up. The public's anger is

01:37entirely justified when we see how resources are being wasted elsewhere. Just weeks ago, I established

01:44that over the past three years executive departments had spent over £5 million on unoccupied buildings and

01:53land. Millions frittered away on nothing, while vital life-saving services like Northlands are left to scrape

02:02around and fight for their very survival. Is this the mark of a functioning or fit-for-purpose government,

02:08one whose priorities are in the right place? We hear time and time again rhetoric about transformation

02:15and prevention, but where is the action? It certainly wasn't in the programme for government, which

02:21shockingly didn't see the word addiction appear anywhere in its 120 pages. Nobody can argue and I haven't

02:29heard anyone argue against investing in Northlands. This isn't about politics, it's about people, it's about

02:37community and it's about saving lives. We need a system, a government, that doesn't just talk about

02:43doing what matters most, but actually does it. People deserve better, people need more. We have called

02:50on the health minister and are now calling on the executive to find the money to fund this life-changing

02:58education and life-saving centre.