Council to write to First and Deputy First Ministers about of closure of Derry’s crisis centre

At September’s Full Council Meeting SDLP councillor Brian Tierney proposed writing to both ministers about the impact of the closure.

The proposal also asked council to refer the issue to its Civic Forum to “assess the impact of service closure and identify alternate mechanisms for funding crisis intervention services in the district".

Councillor Tierney praised CCIS as “one of the best things this council has done”, but argued that it never received adequate Department for Health funding.

He said: “It has for years been fighting for piecemeal [funding], and I don't think it has ever been funded properly for the work that it does across this district.

“Over the last three and a half years, CCIS involved in over 3,400 one-to-one de-escalations [and] we already know that services that support people across this district, who are struggling with their mental health, are already overworked.

“Without CCIS those figures are only going to get worse.

“Unfortunately there is a need for this service and we can't just sit back and allow it to close because of lack of funding.”

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said CCIS was critical and Extern had "sounded the alarm” several times.

He added: “We've been forced as a council to organise last-minute efforts, to call on ministers to step in with short-term funding, but it always felt like this service wasn't being properly prioritised.

“We had Tommy Canning in here last week speaking about the challenges the Northlands Centre faces, and we know that health inequalities are getting worse.

“We can see, and it's underscored with the [CCIS] closure right now, that the services that we need are actually very fragile and not being properly supported.”

Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson supported the motion and noted that his colleague, councillor Sandra Duffy, had been working with Extern, Foyle Search and Rescue, and Ulster University to “come to a solution” for CCIS.

However, he expressed disappointment that the motion focussed on the First Minister and Deputy First Minister rather than the Health Minister or Communities Minister.

“But we don't want to muddy the waters,” Councillor Jackson said. “This is too important an issue for people to try and make politics out of.

“I'm disappointed to see that that's been the case but in the interest of recognising the importance of the issue and the urgent need for us to find a solution, we're still content to support the motion.”

Councillor Tierney responded: “Councillor Jackson referred to the fact that the motion is asking Council to write to the First and Deputy First Minister. He says he's disappointed with that, and I can slightly understand that.

“That is deliberate and it's deliberate for one particular reason; when it became public knowledge [CCIS] were struggling for funding, this council agreed they write to the Health Minister about it, [and] I suggested that we include the Department for Communities and the Department for Justice.

“I was told by Sinn Féin we didn't have to do that because the [Health] Minister would take it to the Executive, [and he] hasn't responded.”