Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Calleary for raising this matter. I cannot disagree with anything he said. I am very conscious of the impact of dementia not only on the individual, but on families and communities. That is why the four pilot projects were put in place.

It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 people with dementia in Ireland today. These numbers are expected to increase to over 140,000 by 2041 as the number of older people in Ireland increases. For this reason, the Government launched the national dementia strategy in December 2014. The strategy recognises that people with dementia can live well for a number of years as long as there is timely access to an assessment and diagnosis and the right services and supports are in place. This is the case in relation to the grouping Deputy Calleary speaks of.

People living with dementia should be supported to stay as physically and mentally well as possible and should be encouraged to remain active participants in their communities. A dedicated office has been established within the HSE to lead the strategy's implementation.

While the initial emphasis was on doing things better within existing resources, a welcome boost was provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies which agreed a joint initiative with the Department of Health and the HSE to implement key elements of the strategy to 2017. This implementation programme represents a combined investment of €27.5 million, with Atlantic Philanthropies contributing €12 million and the HSE contributing the remainder. This will promote a greater focus on the timely diagnosis of dementia and the value of early intervention along with the long-term objective of making people generally more aware and understanding of the needs of people with dementia and of the contribution those with dementia continue to make to our society.

The initiative includes the roll-out of a programme of intensive home care packages for people with dementia, the provision of additional dementia-specific resources for general practitioners, GPs, and primary care teams and a dementia awareness campaign to promote a better understanding of dementia and its prevention. It is important to address stigma and promote the inclusion and involvement in society of those with dementia. The Community Action on Dementia in Mayo project that Deputy Calleary referred to is one of four dementia pilot projects provided throughout the country by Genio over a three-year period to develop innovative supports for people with dementia to continue living well in their own communities. It has met this criterion exceptionally well. The main features of the Mayo project are the provision of community-wide education, awareness and training, the establishment of a mobile memory clinic, the provision of a dementia adviser to link with the person and family from the time of diagnosis, and the provision of assistive technology, as appropriate. The pilot phase of this project will come to an end on 18 December. A representative of the HSE director of social care has visited Mayo and the other Genio sites in Kinsale, Blackrock and south Tipperary to examine how they reflect the priorities of the national dementia strategy and to determine how the learning from these projects can be applied to other areas. The HSE will consider the funding position for the Mayo project in the context of its service plan for 2016. As the Deputy knows, that plan is imminent.

The four projects would not be in place but for Atlantic Philanthropies. We must keep talking about Atlantic Philanthropies, which is an incredible group of people. Mr. Chuck Feeney is a modern patriot. The learning from these projects must be rolled out throughout the country. It is not as if they will die away, but we must look to the service plan which will be delivered immediately. We are conscious of the need as well as of the incredible service that is being provided.

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