Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for sanctioning this debate and the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for attending to take it. The community action on dementia project in County Mayo has been running for three years in a pilot stage. During that time, it has assisted more than 100 families who have a loved one with dementia to receive either a dementia advisor or home support service. The home support service delivered in excess of 7,000 hours of community-based, one-to-one care in 2015 alone, keeping our loved ones in our communities with the love and care of their families and out of hospitals. The project's dementia advisor, the first ever such position in Ireland, provides an emotional signposting and listening service and the experience of the post has fed into the national dementia strategy of which the Minister of State has charge. The project has reached out to more than 2,000 people across Mayo to reduce the stigma surrounding dementia and it continues to bring education and information on dementia to national and secondary schools across the county. To date, it has reached almost 1,000 pupils. In addition, the service provides 30 telecare packages to individuals in their homes. The project database has more than 300 records of people with dementia and is currently in receipt of weekly referrals from medical and community-based professionals at a rate of between three and six a week. The HSE in Mayo is very happy with the impact of the project on the ground and supports it fully.

Why am I here? The difficulty is that the pilot has ended. On 18 December 2015, the funding will finish and the project in its current stage will finish. Despite many interventions and meetings with the HSE nationally, no indication has yet been given of the ability of the HSE to continue to fund this vital and important project. I spoke to the project manager earlier and she spoke of a conversation she had with one lady this morning who asked her what she was to do when the hospital says her mother is not suitable for long-term care but the project, which would have helped her to keep her mother at home, has no funding. She asked where she was to turn and who would care for her mother.

The Minister of State does not need to be told that this is the cruellest of diseases. However, it provokes amazing and heroic responses from family members on a daily basis across the length and breadth of the country. Dementia carers are, frankly, heroes. While they do not look for recognition, they need support. Many of them want to keep their loved ones in their communities and their homes. The project is all about that. One of the driving figures behind the project became involved with dementia through caring for her own father. Through her experience and the lack of available supports for her family, she established a day care centre herself with the support of a very good committee. She continues to raise nearly €60,000 a year for that centre through various events. That is commitment and that is love. That is what this project is about.

The €350,000 investment in the project over three years provided fantastic value for money. It kept people out of Mayo General Hospital and long-stay care and kept them in their homes where they were loved and cared for much better. That is what we want to continue. We want to continue to keep people in the community, but, more importantly, we want to continue to learn lessons from this project about families and dementia sufferers. We want to continue to provide education through the project so that the next generation of people will understand dementia and come to appreciate, in particular, that the disease is now beginning to reach a much lower age cohort than we are traditionally used to. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure the HSE has the funding to keep the project going. It is a fantastic project providing fantastic value for money. More importantly, it respects dignity and provides care in the community.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Calleary for raising this matter. I cannot disagree with anything he said. I am very conscious of the impact of dementia not only on the individual, but on families and communities. That is why the four pilot projects were put in place.

It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 people with dementia in Ireland today. These numbers are expected to increase to over 140,000 by 2041 as the number of older people in Ireland increases. For this reason, the Government launched the national dementia strategy in December 2014. The strategy recognises that people with dementia can live well for a number of years as long as there is timely access to an assessment and diagnosis and the right services and supports are in place. This is the case in relation to the grouping Deputy Calleary speaks of.

People living with dementia should be supported to stay as physically and mentally well as possible and should be encouraged to remain active participants in their communities. A dedicated office has been established within the HSE to lead the strategy's implementation.

While the initial emphasis was on doing things better within existing resources, a welcome boost was provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies which agreed a joint initiative with the Department of Health and the HSE to implement key elements of the strategy to 2017. This implementation programme represents a combined investment of €27.5 million, with Atlantic Philanthropies contributing €12 million and the HSE contributing the remainder. This will promote a greater focus on the timely diagnosis of dementia and the value of early intervention along with the long-term objective of making people generally more aware and understanding of the needs of people with dementia and of the contribution those with dementia continue to make to our society.

The initiative includes the roll-out of a programme of intensive home care packages for people with dementia, the provision of additional dementia-specific resources for general practitioners, GPs, and primary care teams and a dementia awareness campaign to promote a better understanding of dementia and its prevention. It is important to address stigma and promote the inclusion and involvement in society of those with dementia. The Community Action on Dementia in Mayo project that Deputy Calleary referred to is one of four dementia pilot projects provided throughout the country by Genio over a three-year period to develop innovative supports for people with dementia to continue living well in their own communities. It has met this criterion exceptionally well. The main features of the Mayo project are the provision of community-wide education, awareness and training, the establishment of a mobile memory clinic, the provision of a dementia adviser to link with the person and family from the time of diagnosis, and the provision of assistive technology, as appropriate. The pilot phase of this project will come to an end on 18 December. A representative of the HSE director of social care has visited Mayo and the other Genio sites in Kinsale, Blackrock and south Tipperary to examine how they reflect the priorities of the national dementia strategy and to determine how the learning from these projects can be applied to other areas. The HSE will consider the funding position for the Mayo project in the context of its service plan for 2016. As the Deputy knows, that plan is imminent.

The four projects would not be in place but for Atlantic Philanthropies. We must keep talking about Atlantic Philanthropies, which is an incredible group of people. Mr. Chuck Feeney is a modern patriot. The learning from these projects must be rolled out throughout the country. It is not as if they will die away, but we must look to the service plan which will be delivered immediately. We are conscious of the need as well as of the incredible service that is being provided.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and endorse everything that she said about the Atlantic Philanthropies and Mr. Feeney. I welcome her endorsement of the Community Action on Dementia in Mayo project which she stated had done everything exceptionally well. It has broken every boundary in what it set out to do. As such, it is important that it be continued. A gifted range of people are working on the project but they do not know whether they will have employment on 1 January. One hundred families have grown to depend on this project for their loved ones to live with them or in their communities, but they do not know where they will stand on 1 January.

I understand that, of the four projects, the one in south Tipperary has been given an indication of funding for 2016. If families in Tipperary are worthy of that indication, the families and people involved in the project in Mayo are equally as worthy.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yes.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The HSE people on the ground have endorsed the project. We cannot wait for months. We need an indication urgently to assure those employed by the project and, most important, the 100 families that do not know where they stand. This project has broken many boundaries in a field that needs boundaries broken. Let us not lose it. Let us have regard for these families, the daily lives of whom have been enhanced by the project's work.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I endorse everything that the Deputy has said. When we set off on this adventure three years ago, we were not sure what we would find. We had a plan and knew what we wanted to deliver but, as the Deputy rightly stated, the project has delivered more, and differently, than expected. We have learned that the large technology piece is not always what is important. Sometimes what is important is the reassurance or advice from the other end of the phone line as well as the knowledge that someone is there if needed. The other elements - the day service, being collected and having someone to sit with the person while someone else has a break - are also important. We cannot afford to lose them. The project in Mayo will be communicated with before the funding deadline.