Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge his earnestness in this regard and his efforts to support people with dementia living in north Kildare, which I genuinely appreciate. As the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, I believe every Deputy's endeavours to highlight the lack of services available to the people they represent are always a positive, given we are here to try to address such matters and I wish to acknowledge that.

I confirm that I will speak with the HSE and the National Dementia Office, which is an integral part of implementing the strategy. I do not make the decisions on what goes where and it is not within my gift to decide that. However, I can focus attention on a particular issue and seek answers from the service delivery agent, which is the HSE, and from the National Dementia Office in order to get its view. The Deputy made compelling case regarding a gap in services in Kildare North and he pointed out that the services in Kildare South require people to undertake a journey. I presume a proposal has gone to the HSE for funding for this service.

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