Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Kelleher's requests, but the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, must attend the House today. For three years an all-party committee has been raising the issue of the lack of support for people with dementia, but its requests have fallen on deaf ears. The group has met the Minister and organised several open days in the AV room which many Members have attended. Unfortunately, we have seen absolutely no progress. There was a Commencement debate last week, but, unfortunately, the Minister could not attend. We heard that services were being supported from the Dormant Accounts Fund. The funding has to be mainstreamed. There are nine dementia advisers to cover the length and breadth of the country, which is totally unacceptable. It is a postcode lottery. The dementia advisers are the key people who signpost where services can be accessed. They assist the family in keeping somebody suffering from dementia in the home for a longer period and active in their community. Without this, we would be seeing more and more people with dementia being pushed into nursing home care, which would be totally unacceptable. For three years the battle has continued and we have got little or nothing, which is totally unacceptable. We have been told at the last minute on many occasions that the provision of funding for dementia services has been pushed back to the end of the queue. I, for one, no longer accept that the citizen who is suffering from dementia and their family should be pushed to the end of the queue. There must be some acknowledgement of their pain and suffering. There must also be some acknowledgement of the work the families put in to mind their loved ones at home and some assistance must be provided for them. I fully support the amendment proposed to the Order Business that the Minister for Health attend the House today to take statements on the lack of support for those suffering from dementia.