Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I tabled this Topical Issue every day since we came back at the end of September. It is in regard to the day care centre on Drogheda Street in Monasterevin, which the Minister of State may or may not know.

It is a lovely town of almost 4,000 people on the Kildare-Laois border. A part of County Kildare, it went into Laois for the last general election, but we are happy to have reclaimed it for the next one. It has a strong community that cares for its own.

The day care centre was an important focal point for elderly people, not just those living in the town itself, but also its rural hinterland. In 2014, the centre was closed on health and safety grounds. This did not just impact on the elderly who used it as a day care centre, but on Alzheimer sufferers using it as an Alzheimer's centre. We all know that a respite resource is important so that those with Alzheimer's can engage with their peers and their families can have an opportunity to get on with their lives outside of the significant work that goes into caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer's.

When the centre was closed, the day care centre moved to the local football club - fair play to the club for putting facilities in place - and the Alzheimer's centre moved to Moore Abbey, which kindly gave over space so that visits could be run on a three-day basis.

Since then, we have been given a great deal of contradictory information on when the centre would reopen. No more than ten months ago, we were told that it would be opening this past September. This was especially important from the perspective of Alzheimer Society users. However, the latest news is that the centre will not reopen until 2019. That is far too long for a vibrant community to lack such facilities.

Insurance lapsed in respect of the service users who had been going to the football club. In early September, the committee resigned en masse. I pay tribute to its members for the hard work that they have invested for years. I can understand why they resigned, given that they were not hearing any positive news about the centre's reopening.

The Alzheimer's centre had to move from Moore Abbey and has been housed in temporary accommodation for the second time. I thank the Dunmurry Springs golf club for hosting the Alzheimer Society. People have settled in well. Importantly, I am hearing positive reports from family members.

The HSE area manager, Mr. David Walsh, has worked hard towards the reopening of these facilities, but this has gone on for too long, and I have been concerned by the latest answers to a number of parliamentary questions that I have submitted. Apart from the timeline issue, there is no sense that the premises on Drogheda Street will revert to day care and provide services for those with Alzheimer's. According to the answers, primary care and mental health services will be provided and additional-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will have another opportunity to contribute.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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This is urgent.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. She cares passionately about dementia and the 55,000 people who suffer from it. These numbers are expected to increase to more than 130,000 by 2041 as the number of older people increases.

The national dementia strategy emphasises that, with the right supports, people with dementia can continue to live well and participate in their own communities for a long time. As part of the strategy implementation programme, dementia-specific intensive home care packages are being rolled out in a number of acute hospitals and surrounding communities countrywide, targeting people at risk of acute hospital admission and people who have finished the acute phase of their treatment. In August 2017, some 241 people living with dementia benefited under the funding allocated from the programme and 139 people with dementia were in receipt of intensive home care packages. Other elements of the implementation programme include an information and awareness campaign, called Understand Together and launched last year, and a programme to upskill GPs and primary care teams in dementia diagnosis and management.

Social care services are an important component of enabling people with dementia to remain living at home and participating in their own homes and communities. They also provide valuable supports to carers.

Regarding the specific issue of the day care centre in south Kildare, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland receives annual funding from the HSE to provide services and supports in Kildare to people with dementia and their families and carers. These services are in addition to the supports provided directly by the HSE. Monasterevin day care centre services were historically provided from an old GP surgery on Drogheda Street. In 2014, for health and safety reasons, the HSE unfortunately had to restrict access to this building. The Monasterevin GAA club kindly agreed to host the centre until capital works for the Drogheda Street premises were completed.

The HSE met the chairperson and members of the centre's board on 29 August in respect of funding issues. Unfortunately, the board subsequently took the decision to cease operations with effect from 7 September at the temporary site of the day care centre. The HSE arranged a plan with the board for the continuation of the service. Regrettably, the centre was closed while a number of issues were resolved. All service users were notified of the temporary closure and the centre reopened at the GAA club on 25 September.

The HSE has made funding available for the design phase of the Monasterevin day care centre project. It is estimated that the design phase will be completed in the first quarter of 2018. Once it concludes, the HSE will establish the exact amount of funding required from the capital plan for construction. A feasibility study in 2015 suggested a construction cost of €540,000. A project timeline can be developed once the design and costing phases are complete.

The HSE is committed to the Monasterevin day care centre project and will continue to work with the centre's board and its service users in the facility's development.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State spent most of his time speaking about services for people with Alzheimer's. I agree that these are important. In Monasterevin, they also cater for people from Kildare town and Newbridge, where there is a dearth of services. However, equally as important for the people of Monasterevin are the day care centres that cater for the elderly who live in the town and its surrounds in terms of their social activities, meals, interactions and events. Every community is entitled to this.

The Minister of State referred to the board's decision. I can understand why it made that decision. Since 2014, it has been given inaccurate information. It was a board of committed volunteers. I am glad the HSE met them and was able to iron out some of the difficulties, but this is taking too long. Funding for construction had been approved for 2017 and the HSE originally stated that construction on the site was to have been commenced by now and concluded by early 2018.

The Minister of State did not address why there had been delays or why the service users, staff and community must wait until 2019 for the centre to reopen. Monasterevin cannot be left without these services. The elderly in the town rely on it and need it in their community.

I want the Minister of State to bring a message back to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and those in the HSE, namely, that we need the delivery of this service as soon as possible. We should not have to wait any longer.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I strongly agree with the Deputy on the importance of social activity for the elderly, in particular in the Monasterevin day care centre. The day care centre is partially funded by the HSE through a grant agreement to a total of €3,733 per annum and is also staffed by community employment staff, the funding for which comes from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The Monasterevin day care centre is a very important local resource.

I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris, but we are in the middle of a Cabinet meeting. I left to take two Topical Issues. I will give a guarantee that I will go back to the Minister, Deputy Harris, and ask him to address these issues, in particular the delays involved. I will also bring this to the attention of senior people in the HSE.

As far as I am concerned, every senior citizen, including those in Monasterevin day care centre, have the right to services. Our senior citizens have to be respected and we have to ensure that those with dementia have meaningful social activities. That is very important to the Government, in particular given the fact that people are living longer now than they did 20 years ago.