Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Good morning to everyone. First, I want to acknowledge the Cavan branch of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland because it is embarking on an ambitious project to make Cavan a dementia-inclusive county. I know there are a number of public meetings coming up, and I want to acknowledge Carole Beattie and all the supporters of the Alzheimer's Society branch in Cavan for the work they do. I also want to acknowledge the work that both of the witnesses' organisations do to support carers and people with dementia.

We are talking about supports for people with dementia and those who are caring for them.

It can be a frightening time when somebody is first diagnosed with dementia. What kinds of supports are there for people in the early stages of dementia, including when they have just been diagnosed? It is a frightening time and people do not know what is ahead of them.

Some family carers looking after people with dementia need more help in understanding the disease. As one family carer said to me, you could get very frustrated when a person with dementia will not lift his or her foot. It is not that the person is not hearing or understanding the carer; it is just that the brain does not send the message to the foot to move. Families need to understand those types of things as quickly as possible. I spoke to a person whose father has dementia associated with Parkinson's disease. I know there are different types of dementia, which can be quite specific. This woman said she would have loved it if someone had handed her and her family a pack to explain exactly what dementia is. There are brilliant online courses but not everybody is computer savvy and not everybody has the time to avail of them.

Another suggestion made to me was for RTÉ or another of our television stations to run a short campaign on dementia. There are so many people with the disease and, therefore, many families affected by it. Those numbers are set to increase. I am thinking of the Irish Heart Foundation's face, arms speech and time, FAST, campaign to get the message out about what to do in the case of stroke. Even a couple of minutes of key messages about dementia could help many people.

Loneliness is an issue for many, especially in rural Ireland where there may be no supports and people are dependent on the HSE or an agency providing care. Care packages may be approved but the carers are often not there to provide them. People may be left in a situation, possibly at short notice, where a carer cannot come. They just have to cope and that is very difficult. Even when carers are available, they may not be trained in dementia care. As a previous speaker mentioned, more dementia-specific training needs to be rolled out for carers. That is very important.

I am aware of somebody who recently ended up in hospital for a reason separate from the person's dementia. This individual tried to leave the hospital in the middle of the night not understanding why they were there. The person was then sent to the psychiatric ward and detained there for a number of weeks. That was not a suitable place for the patient but the hospital staff either did not know how to manage the care or did not have the resources to do so. I understand that the hospital is totally understaffed and did not have the resources to keep the person with dementia safe on the ward. The only thing staff could think of doing was referring the patient to the psychiatric ward. That was unfair on both the individual and the staff.

There is a need for much more awareness of dementia among our health professionals as well as within families. The model of care is there under the different initiatives and pilot programmes. It is a question of what it will take to resource the care properly to ensure every person gets the supports he or she needs.