John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

417. To ask the Minister for Health if home care packages as provided for in budget 2018 will be prioritised for persons with dementia, in view of the absence of community supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49325/17]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Each year 4,000 people in Ireland develop dementia – an average of 11 people every day. Currently there are approximately 55,000 people living with dementia in the Republic of Ireland, and this number is expected to almost treble to over 150,000 by 2046. These numbers highlight the need for us as a nation to acknowledge and understand the condition and its impact on individuals and society as a whole.

In recognition of the particular challenges faced by people with dementia and their carers, the Government published Ireland’s first National Dementia Strategy in December 2014. The purpose of the Strategy is to increase awareness of dementia, ensure timely diagnosis and intervention, and develop enhanced community based services.

The Strategy emphasises that most people with dementia live in their own communities and can continue to live well and to participate in those communities for far longer than many people appreciate.

My Department and the HSE agreed a joint Programme with the Atlantic Philanthropies in late 2014 to implement significant elements of the Strategy. The National Dementia Strategy Implementation Programme seeks to promote a greater focus on timely diagnosis of dementia and the value of early intervention. A key strand of the programme is the development of measures to raise public awareness, reduce stigma, and promote the inclusion and involvement in society of those with dementia. The Dementia Understand Together campaign integrates these objectives under one campaign.

The National Dementia Strategy Implementation Programme also includes Intensive Homecare Packages for people with dementia; the upskilling of GPs and Primary Care Teams to diagnose and manage dementia; and the establishment of a National Dementia Office in the HSE to coordinate and drive the Strategy’s implementation.

The projected spend for Intensive Home Care Packages in 2017 is €9m supported by HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies funding. At the end of September 2017, out of a total of 236 people in receipt of an Intensive Home Care Package, 148 people with dementia were in receipt of a dementia specific Intensive Homecare Package. It is also worth noting that people with dementia can also avail of standard home care. The HSE continues to provide mainstream home help, routine Home Care packages and other appropriate community based supports such as day care, respite etc., to people with dementia whose needs have been assessed as requiring these supports and within available resources.

In budget 2018 a further €37 million has been made available for older people services, comprising €5m once-off funding in 2017 and €32 million next year, to further strengthen supports for older people, particularly to facilitate speedier discharge from acute hospitals over the winter period. A significant proportion of this additional funding will go towards home care services.

My Department is working with the HSE to prepare the 2018 National Service Plan. Pending agreement of the Plan I am not in a position to comment either on the funding that will be made available for dementia care or the specific services that will be provided. I will be happy to update the Deputy once the Service Plan is finalised.