John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Earlier this week, St. Joseph's Shankill, a dedicated care home for people with dementia, made a decision to send a letter to the 150 people living with dementia who use this excellent facility, 600 family members, 100 staff and 100 volunteers advising them that from December this year they will have to stop the day care service. From next year, it will cease operation in full due to gross underfunding. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, is familiar with this excellent facility. Many of those who work and use the facility are from his constituency of Wicklow.

What will the Minister do to ensure the doors of this excellent facility remain open? Currently, in Ireland there are 55,000 people living with dementia and this figure is estimated to double over the next 20 years. We need to ensure that facilities like this remain open. What is the Minister doing to ensure that funding is forthcoming so the doors can remain open?

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