Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State.

This is an important topic and it is great that people have spoken about us moving towards being a dementia-friendly society. Like some others, I attended yesterday's briefing, which was organised by Senator O'Loughlin, on the topic of dementia and brain health. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Many young people tend to think of dementia as being far away and as having nothing to do with them because they are invincible and will skip through life without having to worry about it. Hearing about some of the measures we could take at every age to help our brain health was interesting, so I thank Senator O'Loughlin for organising the briefing.

Senator Mullen has left the Chamber, but I thank him for speaking so eloquently about caring for and loving his father during his illness due to Alzheimer's disease.I know the bond and closeness created when one shifts from being a child to being the carer of a parent. It is an experience like no other.

Given that we have just completed the statements on International Women's Day 2022, it would be apt to think about how dementia disproportionately affects women. I know at the presentation yesterday it was said that 65% of people living with dementia are women. As we know, women are in the majority among those who provide all aspects of caring, formally and informally. As I said, we tend to think of dementia as being other or happening to someone else, far away from us, and not as something that will affect us. People with dementia are individuals in their own right. They have rights. In the past, the issue was pushed away and dealt with elsewhere. There were two people with different forms of dementia at yesterday's briefing. They talked about living their own lives fully, their empowerment and experiences. That made me shift my thinking in terms of who has dementia and what a dementia sufferer looks like.

Another thing I took away from yesterday's briefing was the message that brain health affects us all. We have a responsibility as public representatives, as has the Minister of State's Department, to spread awareness around brain health, both our future selves and for society at large. Some people have talked about the possibility of cutting costs by delaying the onset of dementia by five years and so on. We have also talked about the fact that evidence suggests up to 40% of dementia is potentially preventable. Representatives of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland told me yesterday that they are delighted with the funding for the brain health project manager in the dementia office within the HSE. As I have said already, the important element in that regard is that brain health is an issue for young people. There are steps or actions that those of us in our 20s, 30s and 40s can take in order to reduce the risk and hopefully delay symptoms of dementia.

I was trying to think of the appropriate phrase and having discounted "changeable factors" and "moveable factors", I got to grips with "modifiable risk factors". Such factors include smoking, obesity, alcohol, exercise and hearing loss. I was struck by the importance of making sure to stay on top of one's blood pressure. It occurred to me I do not even know how to get a blood pressure test. As a young person, I have never had my blood pressure tested. I do not know how I would go about doing that. I will ask my GP the next time I am in. As a young person, that is not something I have had to do. I do not get check-ups on a regular basis. That has gone into my mind.

I was also struck yesterday by the fact that social isolation and a lack of social connection are risk factors. That is important as we emerge from the pandemic. Social isolation is very bad for our brain health. As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to think about that. We need to consider it individually and reflect on who is socially isolated in our networks and communities. Social isolation is also an issue for Government. We need a national conversation around tackling loneliness and social isolation. We must create connections.

I keep mentioning things that struck me yesterday but it was a very striking session.