Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairperson and the Leader of the House for giving us time to discuss this very important subject. I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to attend this incredibly important debate. I add my voice of welcome to Deputy Devlin, who plays a key part in the all-party committee, and to Ms Emma Balmaine and Ms Siobhán Grant, together with Elaine and Norma, from St. Joseph's, Shankill. I also welcome those who are representing Alzheimer Portugal, Alzheimer Hellas in Greece, the University of Oviedo in Spain, the institute of St. John of God, Portugal, and the Association of Social Inclusion and Education, BUHAYAD, in Turkey.

As we know, and as the Minister of State has pointed out, St. Joseph's, Shankill, has vast experience in the field of dementia and is collaborating in the development of a charter of rights for people with dementia and their caregivers. We all look forward to hearing and seeing the results of the Erasmus project and possibly having the opportunity to debate it, either within our all-party committee or back in the Chambers of Leinster House.It has been a privilege to initiate this debate as chair of the all-party group on dementia. Today, we speak in the House on behalf of more than 64,000 people in Ireland who are living with dementia and, of course, their families who are bearing the brunt of caring.

At the outset, I pay tribute to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, ASI, for organising such a moving and empowering briefing for us in the audiovisual room yesterday and for the incredible work and support it offers to people with dementia and their families. It was clear from that briefing that significant strides have been made in the area of brain health and dementia in this country. I thank Professor Sean Kennelly, Professor Mary McCarron, Professor Iracema Leroy and Samantha Taylor from the ASI, as well as the strong and powerful dementia advocates, Kevin Quaid and Helen Rochford-Brennan.

It may be a surprise to many that, according to the WHO, up to 40% of dementia cases are potentially preventable if we work to support and maintain our brain health. We can all take action to protect our brain health. Dementia has become much less taboo thankfully in recent years, which is very important in terms of early intervention. In years gone by, dementia was a hush-hush disease. People did not talk about it and many were afraid of what others might think, how they might be viewed, how their lives would change, and that people would see the dementia and not the person. However, as was eloquently presented in yesterday's briefing by Professor Leroy, advancing the historical journey of dementia is key in achieving a dementia-free society. We have now become a dementia friendly society, and that is clear from the work the Minister of State has done and from the commitments she achieved in budget 2022. I pay tribute to her for the clear focus in last September's budget for this year on enhancing community-based services to enable older people to continue living in their homes with dignity and independence for as long as possible.

The €150 million funding secured in 2021 for 5 million additional hours of home support has been maintained for this year. In addition, the proportion of these new home support hours that will be ring-fenced for people with dementia, will more than double from 5% in 2021 to 11% in 2022, which is just incredible, and we want to see that maintained in years to come. I got a strong message from Siobhan O'Connor from the Alzheimer Society of Ireland to press that point today. For many people and their families, the option to remain in their homes is key to their quality of life. I thank the Minister of State for engaging with us and other stakeholders, for listening and delivering for those living with dementia.

I know there has been talk about and work done in extending the fair deal scheme to homecare in the home. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could give an update on that, because it is a very important piece of the jigsaw. Points were very well made at her briefing yesterday, notwithstanding the excellent work that nursing homes do in terms of caring for their patients, that stimulating patients, particularly those with dementia, is hugely important, as is looking at different models, such as the butterfly model used in St. Joseph's in Shankill. In addition, the extra education for those in the health business and nursing for dealing with patients with dementia is very important.

In many cases, dementia is preventable and while being a dementia-friendly society is important, we need to move to a healthy brain society. We need to focus on preventive measures and working on our brain health to ensure that we achieve a healthy brain society and, therefore, delay the onset of dementia. According to The Value of Delaying Alzheimer’s Disease Onset report of 2014, any intervention that delays the onset of dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease for five years, will result in 41% lower prevalence of dementia and the associated cost will reduce by 40% by 2050.

We all know the importance of a healthy heart, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and exercise to support cardiovascular health, but do any of us really know how to maintain brain health? Do we even know what it is? We need to support a mass communication campaign on the importance of brain health and how to promote healthy brain function. Brain health is the preservation of optimal brain integrity, mental and cognitive function, and the absence of overt neurological disorders. The landmark report of The Lancet concluded that 40% of dementia is due to just 12 risk factors, such as a lack of physical activity, smoking, social isolation and many others. This shows that we can and we must do everything we can as a legislative executive body and as a society to tackle those factors head-on.

There is no doubt that we can reduce the prevalence of dementia in our society, but we must act now. I am confident that the Minister of State will be the Minister who makes the difference. I am proud of what we, the Fianna Fáil Party, have already achieved through her and the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, in Government in terms of delivering the enhanced memory technology resource rooms on nine sites, dementia diagnostic services delivered through a specialist regional memory clinic in Cork, four new memory assessment and support services in Mayo, Wexford, Waterford and Sligo, and the enhancement of acute care pathways for people with dementia through the recruitment of more clinical nurse specialists.

What was clear from yesterday's briefing, particularly from the contribution of Kevin Quaid, was the fight, grit and determination of those living with dementia to advance the cause and to push for treatment, innovation and preventive actions. Again, I have no doubt - no pressure - in the Minister of State's ability to drive this forward. I appreciate the Acting Chair's indulgence.