Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It is welcome that the existing support hours are to be doubled in order to fully support those who need it, including people with dementia. The new dementia advisers are also welcome. An average of 11 people per day are diagnosed with dementia. That means that, since this Government came into being 102 days ago, approximately 1,122 people have been diagnosed. The number is growing all of the time.

The words carers used about their own roles in the survey include "devastation", "torturous", "exhausting", "depressing" and "incredibly stressful". We have to bear that in mind, as I know the Minister of State does. In my own county of Kildare, almost 1,500 people have dementia. We also have almost 4,000 carers. Over the past six years, day care support services have moved to four different places. The day care service in Monasterevin moved to Moore Abbey, then to Dunmurry and then on to Mill Lane in Naas in north Kildare. I have been to Dunmurry and Moore Abbey and have seen how wonderful these spaces were for those who were there. It is crucial that more money be spent to ensure permanent infrastructure to support those with dementia and their carers.