Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Loughlin for raising this very important issue. She is a strong advocate for people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease and our senior citizens generally.

Approximately 55,000 people in Ireland today have dementia. The number is expected to increase to more than 130,000 by 2041 as the number of older people in Ireland increases. To respond to the increased prevalence of dementia and the challenges this poses, the Government published the Irish national dementia strategy in December 2014. The strategy emphasises that with the right supports, people with dementia can continue to live well and participate in their communities for a very long time. As part of the national dementia strategy implementation programme co-funded by the HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies, dementia specific intensive home care packages are being rolled out in a number of acute hospitals and surrounding communities countrywide, and are targeted at people at risk of acute hospital admission and people who have finished the acute phase of their treatment. By the end of 2016, approximately 175 people will have received a dementia-specific intensive home care package.

Other elements of the national dementia strategy implementation programme include an information and awareness campaign, Understand Together, which was launched on Monday 24 October, and a programme to upskill GPs and primary care teams in dementia diagnosis and management, which is being led by the PREPARED team based in UCC. Social care services, including home care, day care and respite care, are an important component of enabling people with dementia to remain living at home and participating in their homes and communities. They also provide valuable supports to carers.

With regard to the specific issue of the Alzheimer’s disease day care unit in south Kildare, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland receives funding on an annual basis from the HSE to provide services and supports in the Kildare area to people with dementia, their families and carers. These services are in addition to supports provided directly by the HSE. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland operates a day care service three days each week from Moore Abbey in Monasterevin and a home care service which assists families to care for people with dementia in their homes. The HSE has undertaken an extensive review of the day care service provided in Monasterevin to analyse uptake of the service provided, the cost of providing that service and the facilities that are available to the society. The review has identified that attendances at the day care centre reach only 50% of capacity on some days of the week. The HSE recently met the Alzheimer Society of Ireland to consider the results of the review. Following on from these discussions it has been agreed to continue the service on a three day a week basis in Monasterevin and to promote the service locally to see if other clients can be encouraged to attend, thereby increasing attendance rates and the viability of the service. The HSE and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland have agreed to monitor attendances over the next four months while also seeking a new location for the service from April 2017, when the Moore Abbey premises will no longer be available.

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