Mr. Andy Heffernan:

Generally, in terms of diagnosis, I think it is an Irish thing that we tend to default to the worst outcome and the very end as opposed to thinking about what happens between now and that end. We will all have an end. The point I would make is that there is a lot of living to be done. A diagnosis can be difficult for individuals and families because of the fear factor set out by the Senator. However, people can live well and live better, and that is the message we want to get out.

Regarding psychotherapeutic inputs, we have found, through our family carer training, that some of the initial modules are nearly fully taken up with the emotional needs of the family members undertaking the training. They have not fully come to terms with their loved ones having dementia and what that means for the next number of years. We are very supportive of that aspect of the training. There are organisations out there providing that type of support but we want to look at it ourselves in terms of where we can go with it and how we can knit it into our own services. We hope to progress something on that this year. It is a hugely important part of support provision, which moves away from the catastrophising of the initial diagnosis. As I said, there is a life that has to be lived.

Reference was made to someone with dementia being on a board and people seeing that type of involvement over the years. Lots of people with dementia are living very good lives. Many of them are part of working groups within our organisation and are members of our board. I work with people across Ireland and Europe who have dementia. They are no different from anybody else other than needing particular supports. A lot of the practicality around what supports are required is common sense but people need to be taught about it and made aware of the requirements.