I rise to speak on behalf of thousands of adults who are living with or potentially living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across Northern Ireland. All MLAs in the Chamber will be aware of the fight that parents face annually to attain access to statements or support for children in an education setting. It is rightly argued by some, however, that we have already missed two generations of children, now adults, who have had to mask their symptoms or suffer internally with the overwhelming nature of everyday life. One doctor whom I met recently explained to me that we are all walking on a treadmill in life but those with ADHD do so on a level 6 incline, meaning that they can complete their walk but it will be more fatiguing and easily lead to burnout.

My interest in the area was piqued when I asked a question for written answer of the current Health Minister about how many adults were on the waiting list for an ADHD diagnosis in Northern Ireland. I was stunned when I received the reply that, because there are no commissioned services for adults here, there is no need to keep such a list. Since then, I have received hundreds of emails, messages and phone calls from people telling me about their daily lived experience, about how the lack of commissioned services impacts on them, about the spiralling costs that some inflict on themselves each month and about the sheer postcode lottery across our trusts.

The petition that I present today has received 3,586 signatures in the three short weeks since I launched it. We call for an adult ADHD service to be commissioned in Northern Ireland and for the Health Minister and his officials to get an urgent grip on the issue rather than take the organic approach that has been allowed to happen, which is simply not enough. People have been suffering for too long. They are told that it is unlikely that they will be seen by someone in the health service for three to six years. The private sector has all but shut its doors owing to demand. People are receiving bills of hundreds of pounds for medication that one person described to me as being transformative to their life. In 2024, that is a disgrace.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, and your officials for arranging to accept the petition so quickly. I take the opportunity to thank Sarah Salters and Keith Anderson from ADD-NI, a charity that has been operating for the past 27 years that has been of massive help and support to me and the adults who have contacted me about their experiences. I also thank Claire and Stephen Loftus for highlighting this injustice through their own experiences and the long list of people who have communicated with me through social media and my office.

While I do not expect the petition to lead immediately to the introduction of services here, I see it as an important first step towards their introduction. Anyone watching today can rest assured that I will not stop raising the issue until people living with ADHD receive the support and dignity that they deserve.

Mr McReynolds moved forward and laid the petition on the Table.