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Two local eyecare Home Visits businesses operating across Northern Ireland have backed a call from Lagan Valley MLA Robbie Butler for the region to have its own dedicated Loneliness Strategy.

Mr Butler, who is Chair of the All-Party Group on Preventing Loneliness, spoke in the Assembly Chamber last month to highlight the “pressing matter that affects all of our communities deeply.”

Alan Myers, Allison Maternaghan, Graham Hanna and Matthew Brennan, who are directors of Specsavers Home Visits in Northern Ireland, have backed Mr Butler’s Loneliness Strategy call after research by the business revealed over half of over 70s in Northern Ireland are experiencing or have experienced loneliness.

Specsavers Home Visits offers comprehensive eye tests in the homes and care homes of people who are unable to leave their house unaccompanied due to a physical or mental illness or disability, which, as Mr Butler also pointed out during his comments to the Assembly, can leave them predisposed to feelings of loneliness.

Graham Hanna, director of Specsavers Home Visits Belfast with Robbie Butler MLA at Stormont. Specsavers Home Visits businesses in Northern Ireland have backed Mr Butler’s call for Northern Ireland to have its own Loneliness Strategy in line with other UK regions. Pic credit: Darren Kidd

Specsavers Home Visits Director, Alan Myers, said: "‘We absolutely back Mr Butler’s call for a Northern Ireland Loneliness Strategy.

"It is a reality for so many in our communities, and it is one that has become taboo, and nobody really seems to want to address the issues at their core.”

The Lagan Valley MLA said: “As Chair of the All-Party Group (APG) on Loneliness and having listened to many reports and direct testimony, I have become increasingly alarmed at the rate and extent that loneliness has invaded our communities.

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"Whilst rates of loneliness are at their highest with older people and those who are disabled, there is a growing impact on single parents and young people.

"This is something that Government must not ignore.

"With rates of poor Mental Health at their highest point the need for a cross departmental strategy with clear outcomes has never been greater.”

Graham Hanna, Director of Specsavers Home Visits added: “Mr Butler has rightly called this a public health crisis, and as those operating on the front line and seeing this face to face, we are backing his call for a comprehensive, cross-party approach.”

Northern Ireland Home Visits teams back MLA’s call for dedicated Loneliness Strategy for NI