John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise issues affecting St. Joseph's dementia care home in Shankill, which is in the midst of a significant funding crisis. St. Joseph's care home is the only care home in the State that cares solely for people living with dementia and it is now, regrettably, threatened with closure due to gross underfunding by the State. Last month, when I raised the issue with the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, in the Dáil, he gave me an assurance that funding would be provided to ensure St. Joseph's is able to keep the doors open and stated categorically, "The doors will not close". However, things have reached crisis point and in recent days the management in St. Joseph's has taken the unfortunate decision to inform families and staff it is to stop taking residential admissions with immediate effect. This is a completely unacceptable situation.

There are currently 60 people living in St. Joseph's and up to 120 people use the day care service on a weekly basis. I welcome the fact funding has been provided for the day care aspect of St. Joseph's. However, we cannot underestimate the massive difference a service model like that provided in St. Joseph's offers patients suffering from dementia. It provides an excellent level of care and massive comfort to the families and loved ones of those suffering from dementia. The situation has been caused by gross underfunding of St. Joseph's and it is causing serious anxiety, stress and uncertainty for service users, as well as their families and the excellent staff in the facility.

There are currently 55,000 people in Ireland living with dementia and that number is expected to double over the next 20 years. We need increased funding for dementia services and we need to see the development of more services specifically for dementia care, not less. I call on the Minister, Deputy Harris, to honour the commitment he gave the House to immediately intervene and to ensure staff at St. Joseph's can continue to do the excellent work they do, ensure the service is protected and ensure the staff and patients have certainty. We are talking about some of the most vulnerable people in the State and they deserve some respect. It is time to stand up and make it clear that this service is going to be properly funded and maintained. We need to get not just words but actions, because the uncertainty and fear are genuine and need to end. We need a firm commitment that the Government and the Minister will intervene immediately to ensure that funding is put in place.

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