Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Kelleher for sharing time. A recently published independent report, Evaluation of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Dementia Adviser Service Report, by UCC, which was commissioned by the HSE's national dementia office as part of the implementation of the national dementia strategy, highly recommended an increase in the number of dementia advisers to meet the increasing demand as a result of increasing prevalence of dementia in Ireland. The report also recommends the development of the service to achieve national coverage.

This independent evaluation is the first external evaluation of the dementia adviser service in Ireland and it has provided evidence of overall high levels of satisfaction with the service. People living with dementia, their carers, and health and social care professionals reported satisfaction with the information, advice, peer group and signposting of services provided by the service. The report found challenges with equity of access to the dementia adviser service across the country and a large number of people with dementia, including some in counties Roscommon and Mayo, and their families simply cannot access a dementia adviser because of where they live.