Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The demand for neurorehabilitation services is growing owing to our ageing population and increased survival rates for people with neurological disability. Services are completely insufficient to meet the current needs of people with neurological illnesses such as dementia, however.

I compliment my colleague, Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony, on bringing forward this motion to highlight the need for investment in neurological health care services in the coming years. This motion is being introduced in co-operation with the Neurological Alliance of Ireland.

Every day in this country, 11 people are diagnosed with dementia. In 2016, 55,000 people were diagnosed with it. That figure is set to triple in the next 30 years. This is a significant public health challenge and one that will require the Government to plan and prepare immediately if it is to have the adequate services in place. In 20 years, there will be over 1 million people aged over 65. Of those, approximately 350,000 will be aged over 80. This will be a significant challenge for our health system.

As co-chairman of the all-party group on dementia, I believe we need to recognise that an increasing number of people will be living with dementia for long periods of their lives. How society includes them and cares for them will demonstrate our country's determination to be both inclusive and compassionate in how we care for our elderly citizens.

I am deeply concerned over the increase in the number of older people acting as carers for loved ones and relatives. According to the last census, from 2011 to 2016 there was an increase in this number in the order of 18.5%. There are now 29,000 people aged over 65 providing care for loved ones. It is absolutely unbelievable that people over 65 are providing care for their loved ones.

It is clear to me from my work on the ground in Waterford and in my engagements with a variety of older persons' organisations that older people are just not receiving adequate supports. There are not enough home help hours or respite supports and there is limited access to the fair deal scheme, meaning that the responsibility for providing care to people with neurological diseases is being passed on to spouses and other relatives. We all saw the programme last night on carers. It really brought what is happening home to us all.

Carers, without doubt, are some of the country's unsung heroes. They step in when the State is unable to provide care and support. This is happening all too often. We have a responsibility to ensure that the needs of those with complex neurological diseases are met. Where possible, we must also ensure the State provides the services their loved ones require. People with neurological conditions face a huge struggle. More often than not, the struggle is increased when the correct supports are not in place. The key to adequate care is funding. This is a field of medicine that has unfortunately suffered from a lack of investment over the years. This needs to change if neurology services are to be up to standard in meeting the future needs of the country.

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