Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I missed the presentations but heard Dr. Crowe on the radio this morning. Dr. Crowe asked the committee members to put themselves in the shoes of one of her service users. I have been in those shoes, along with my brothers. My mam was diagnosed with dementia when she was 89. It was heart-breaking for the family but devastating for my mam who was very active up to three months before she passed away. We were really taken by surprise by her condition.

I was interested to hear Dr. Crowe talk on the radio this morning about not locking people with dementia away but to keep them at home. My two brothers lived with my mam. Through their unconditional love and affection, they made her life that little bit easier. The highlight of her day was going out. For some strange reason, she became a big fan of McDonald’s which she never liked before. Towards the end of her days, her favourite was chips and tomato sauce.

It is frightening that the figures for people with dementia will double by 2031, with 96,000 people diagnosed with the disease by then. What is different about this pilot project to what other organisations and many other communities are doing? Is there any graphic illustrating the national and regional distribution of the number of people with dementia?