Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right to highlight the fact that more and more people are being and will continue to be diagnosed with dementia. Eleven of us will receive that diagnosis each and every day. It is estimated that there are over 55,000 people who have a form of dementia. There are about 4,000 new cases each year. After the age of 65 years, the prevalence of dementia nearly doubles every five years, but, of course, onset can occur at a much younger age. There are 4,000 people under the age of 65 years with early onset dementia. Based on population projections from the CSO, the number of people with dementia will double to 115,000 by 2036 and treble to 157,000 by 2046. Therefore, we have a lot of work to do to prepare our society to enable people with dementia to live and live well. I am very much aware of the work done by dementia care advisers and that the Alzheimer Society of Ireland provides a dementia care adviser service which is funded by the HSE at eight locations nationwide. I am aware that an evaluation was conducted by UCC to investigate how well it worked and provide recommendations on the future development of the service. The evaluation was published in September and recommended the continuation and expansion of the service. This is being considered as part of the national service plan process.

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