Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government makes specific reference to implementing the national dementia strategy. As the Taoiseach is aware, there is major anxiety or fear about the fate of the St Joseph's dementia care facility in my constituency in Shankill. I brought up this issue last week when I sought a debate with the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, on its fate. It is threatened with closure. It is the biggest and best and a model dementia care facility in the country. There are, however, real fears about its fate. It would be a disaster for dementia sufferers and their families if it were to close. That simply cannot happen. There have been some reassuring comments made by the Minister for Health, but it needs to be definitive. Critically, the fate of the facility turns on recognition by the Government and the HSE that the care provided for high-dependency dementia sufferers will be funded against the minimal level of funding coming from the HSE through the fair deal scheme. Can the Taoiseach tell us, in line with commitments given in this area in the programme for Government, that the gold standard in dementia care facilities in the country will be protected, that funding will be provided and that the anxiety suffered by dementia sufferers and their families will be ended? The sooner he makes a statement on the matter the better.

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