Ulster Unionist Upper Bann MLA, Doug Beattie MC, said:
“The recent announcement that the DUP MLA Brenda Hale has been nominated to sit on the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group (CRG) is good news for the armed forces community and I wholeheartedly welcome her appointment. I don’t care that Arlene Foster MLA has somehow taken the credit for this after DUP inactivity for the last six years, nor do I mind that I am now being asked to take a back seat by Westminster, who inform me that I have to go through an MP in respect to armed forces issues.
“However, I do mind that we as a society are still failing veterans in Northern Ireland, either through an imbalanced justice system or by not recognising the unique problems they face.
“This can be viewed in the starkest terms when seen through the eyes of one veteran who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) thirteen years ago. Although it was highlighted to social services that this individual suffers from PTSD, with hyper vigilance one of the main symptoms, they still put him out of his house for what seems like no coherent reason or rationale, other than they thought his behaviour strange.
“Having highlighted this issue three months ago, it is an absolute disgrace that he is living in a tent in the Mournes and has been doing so for the last eight months. His partner wants him home, his children want him home, his condition will only improve when he is home, yet none of this is being taken into account when assessing his case. He spent Christmas in his tent alone while his family sat at home, and he greeted 2017 as he left 2016, alone hoping to return home.
“This is not a new story but I will not stop highlighting it to show the desperate plight some veterans face. Recently I agreed to accompany this individual as he attended a regular contact visit with his children under supervision, and I have now been able to get him to agree to go for help for his PTSD.
“As Brenda Hale MLA begins to the process of representing the armed forces community here in Northern Ireland - and she needs time to bed in - I hope she will focus on the Defence Community Mental Health (DCMH) facility in Thiepval Barracks. I urge her to lobby for funding to enhance this facility so it can address issues like those I have described, giving veterans with mental health issues a safe and secure facility where they can receive treatment. This is the least they deserve.”