The Democratic Unionist Party met yesterday with a representative from ‘Beyond the Battlefields’, a local charity focused on dealing with trauma and stress faced by former service personnel. Junior Minister Jonathan Bell met with Mr Robert McCartney along with Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson and MLA Brenda Hale.
Speaking after the meeting Mr Bell said:
‘The needs of our service personnel are never far from our thoughts, but it was particularly pertinent that this meeting took place on Armistice Day. The issues being dealt with by Mr McCartney and the Beyond the Battlefields organisation mirror exactly the needs we hear from many current and former service personnel and which we have been working to help resolve for some time.’
Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson who is a member of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee added:
‘Brenda Hale and myself have been focusing on this issue for well over two years now and have met with representatives of armed forces charities as well as taking it to the Prime Minister in a meeting with Mr Cameron some time ago. It was very useful to meet with Robert and hear of the work carried out by his organisation which mirrors that heard from many other quarters.
Northern Ireland has a higher proportion of veterans per head of the population than any other region of the United Kingdom and we are continuing to work with all the various stakeholders to see their needs met in a way which has the support of those who served and the organisations who represent them.’
