I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House.
Adjournment Matters
Architectural Heritage
I am somewhat honoured that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has decided to come in to take this Adjournment motion. Castledonovan is a castle in a semi-derelict state but is of some historical importance to west Cork and Ireland. I was a member of the national monument committee of Cork County Council for a number of years and was actively proposing the refurbishment and renewal of Castledonovan for its historical importance. Eventually it was in private ownership and came into the hands of the State. My concern is that a neighbour who lives close to it said it is like a derelict building site. There has been scaffolding erected for ten or 11 years and little progress seems to have been made. My purpose in putting down this motion was to ascertain the facts.
What money has been spent on it to date? When is it likely that the refurbishment work will be concluded? When, if ever, will it be open to the public? What is the situation regarding expediting the work? Is there money there to do the work? I am looking for answers, and I will save some of my fire, if I have any left, for the response. I await the Minister's reply. I would like to have the facts of where we are regarding that project. It is under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, under the OPW. I raise this out of general concern, not out of any criticism. I frequently pass the castle and it is of some historical importance. I am hoping the Minister can throw some light as to where we are regarding this project.
I thank the Senator. I apologise on behalf of my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, who was unavailable. I was asked to stand in for him, so the Senator will appreciate that the information I will give him is the information that has been supplied by Deputy Brian Hayes's office to me.
I am advised that Castledonovan Castle, also sometimes known as O'Donovan's Castle, is a national monument in private ownership but in the care of the national monuments service of the OPW. It is located near Drimoleague, County Cork. It has an interesting history. Castledonovan is a castle, or tower house, of medium size and was the seat of the Clann Cathail of the O'Donovans during the 16th century. It was occupied for a time by the O'Donovans in the latter part of the 1500s but some histories report that the family had largely moved in the early years of the 17th century to another location closer to the sea. It was severely damaged in the 1640s, reputedly by the forces of Oliver Cromwell, who destroyed part of the structure apparently in retaliation for the family having sided with the Stuarts and participated in the rebellion of 1641. The building was abandoned after this and was not lived in subsequently.
Castledonovan is in private ownership and is therefore under the guardianship of the Commissioners of Public Works, who must make arrangements with the landowner to gain access to the building to carry out works. This arrangement is provided for legally in the various National Monuments Acts and this allows the Commissioners of Public Works to perform works to the building and undertake any maintenance necessary to keep it in good order. The building is wholly located on private lands, with no formal right of way currently for members of the public to access the property. However, the landowner is very committed to public access and has agreed with the national monuments service that he will facilitate public access to the building once all the work has been completed.
The national monuments service has been engaged in an ongoing scheme of works at Castledonovan for several years. The project commenced in 2001 and will be fully concluded later this summer. The project has been technically very difficult and was hampered in the early stages, particularly by the condition of the building which was, at that time, fragile, structurally unstable and dangerous. The project was also affected by relatively poor weather over a number of summer seasons and the need, at times, to divert resources away to other conservation and maintenance projects ongoing in the region at the same time. While the length of time taken to bring the work to completion has been somewhat protracted, this needs to be viewed in the context of a project which was complex and, at times, made more difficult by its particular circumstances.
The first phase of the work involved consolidating the structure to enable OPW's own workforce to work safely on the building and carry out necessary conservation of the structures. A comprehensive archaeological investigation, over three successive seasons, was also carried out at the site and this had to be done before any of the extensive conservation work necessary was undertaken. Elements of the original structure were unearthed during this excavation, some of which craftsmen were subsequently able to successfully use in the conservation project, re-incorporating these elements into the preserved structure.
The work at Castledonovan was carried out by OPW's own direct labour force, based at Mallow, County Cork. The project cost, including archaeology, scaffolding, OPW labour and all materials in the period 2001 to date is €1,561,935.14. The project is almost complete with only access stairs to the building to be provided and a small amount of fencing and landscaping yet to be done externally. As part of the landscaping, OPW will also, by agreement with the landowner, provide a small number of car parking spaces which will facilitate visitors wanting to see the castle. It is intended also to provide an interpretative panel outlining some of the history of the site and a local caretaker has been identified who will open and close the site and maintain a watch over it to ensure it is not damaged.
There are no plans to provide any guide facilities at Castledonovan, as at other OPW sites around the country, but Deputy Brian Hayes made considerable efforts last year through the communities initiative to invite interested local groups to join with the OPW to present sites such as this to visitors on a voluntary basis. I commend this initiative to the Senator and I suggest that if there are responsible and interested locals in the area who might be interested and who can organise themselves successfully, he should please refer them to the OPW. It is hoped that all works at Castledonovan will be completed by late June or early July this year and I hope that visitors will then be able to come and view the results of the long years of effort and skill by the craftsmen and women working within OPW.
I thank the Minister. It is just two years since this Seanad came into being and he has been in the House many times, and this is the best piece of news he has brought me in those two years. I thank him for that. Perhaps it was unintentional that he was the bearer of the news but I am pleased that it is coming close to completion. I am also pleased that I was one of the few people politically, as a member of the national monument committee of Cork County Council back in the 1980s, to urge that this process take place. I will, as suggested by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes in that response, contact some local community groups which are doing a lot of work regarding walkways in the area. There is a very vibrant community in Drimoleague, which is down the road. The information is positive and I look forward to the opening. As a lot of money is being spent there, perhaps Deputy Shatter would convey to Deputy Brian Hayes that there should be an official opening. It is of major interest and work has been going on there for 12 years. Sometimes we are critical of the OPW but I am pleased that the fruits of the labour of those involved can be seen by the public. That is very important because there is some public concern. They are kept in the dark and this information will throw light on the project and I am glad it is coming close to its conclusion. I thank the Minister for the positive news.
I am extremely happy that I have made Senator O'Donovan happy. I am also relieved that as a consequence of what I was in a position to tell him, the Senator did not have to carry out his threat of starting to shoot at me. I can tell the Senator there are enough people shooting at me without adding him to the posse. I will certainly convey to Deputy Brian Hayes the Senator's request that he consider some official opening and his thanks for the work that has been undertaken and the possibility of his being able to identify individuals who may be interested in the project to the extent of showing visitors around. It is good to be able to come in and bring good news. It is the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes's good news, but I am happy to convey it on his behalf to the House.
Instead of shooting the messenger I will praise the messenger.
Direct Provision System
Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. I am delighted to see the Minister because an argument is often put forward that the Ministers are too busy to come to the House.
We may not agree on policy issues all the time but he always makes time to come to the House, which I appreciate, especially for an Adjournment matter.
I have raised again the issue of direct provision. Direct provision is an appalling system set up as a privatised system under a Fianna Fáil regime and needs to be reformed. In opposition the Minister was very vocal in respect of the way the system has been set up. The system comprises approximately 37 centres, seven of which are State-owned, the rest are former hotels, guesthouses, hostels, convents, a holiday camp and a mobile home site which are under private ownership by private companies.
Organisations such as the Irish Refugee Council, AkiDwa, Doras Luimní, other refugee support groups and many others have drawn attention to the position in direct provision. I shall use a number of quotes from the Irish Refugee Council to the effect that it has collected evidence that conditions in many direct provision centres are substandard to the point of inhumane. A culture of fear and the constant threat of transfer mean residents are frequently afraid to complain and are discouraged from interacting with inspectors. The Irish Refugee Council believes that some of the private businesses which operate direct provision centres are failing to fulfil their obligation to provide safe, hospitable and clean accommodation as per the RIA house rules and procedures in order to maximise their own profits. It also tells us that whole families, including both parents and children of schoolgoing age are often allocated just one room. Contrary to housing regulations, teenage children commonly share with siblings of the opposite sex. Single residents and mothers with one or two children are often required to share a bedroom and bathroom facilities. Broken, dilapidated furniture in common areas and infestations of mice, cockroaches and insects have been reported. There are also incidents of intimidation and harassment by staff at some centres. Allegations have been made of abusive and foul language directed toward residents and frequent threats of transfer. In addition, black African residents report that they are treated differently from residents who are white or of Arab origin. I note that the RIA, which came under the auspices of the Minister in 2010, reported that mobile homes in Athlone were damaged with hatchets after residents from neighbouring estates entered Lissywollen caravan site. While it was reported that the damaged property was repaired, the perimeter remained broken for some time.
Another case cited in the State sanctioned child poverty and exclusion report by the IRC stated that in early 2006 a sizeable section of a ceiling caved in on to the parents' bed and very close to their baby's cot. According to the resident they had reported the constant leak in the ceiling to the management on a number of occasions in the previous month. On many occasions I have reported my concern about the system. I am aware the Minister said he would consider reforming the system. I call on him to look at the role of profit-making companies in the system. As the system has to continue in some way perhaps the NGOs might be taken in as part of that regime. Will he consider issues such as opting into the EU reception conditions directive during the Irish Presidency?
Given that the system is privatised, which may be the nub of the problem, how many of the properties currently managed by NAMA are used as accommodation centres for asylum seekers under the direct provision system? Perhaps the Minister would itemise those properties as it is important that we get a full picture. Under the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2010 and at the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions the Ombudsman asked that her remit be extended to cover the RIA and asylum centres, among other things, because she was aware there were a number of issues that people wanted to make known to her but she did not have a remit to look at them. There has been widespread condemnation of these centres and the way they are run.
While I appreciate that the Minister has made inroads into processing applications for asylum, I hope the process can be speeded up for the benefit of all the people in the system. I know people who have been in the system between seven and ten years. That is a terrible sentence to inflict on anybody who comes to Ireland seeking refuge. Certainly there is a need for reform in the system. I look forward to hearing the Minister's reply and appreciate the fact that he has taken the time to come to the House to take the matter.
As the Senator is aware we are developing a new piece of legislation to deal with residence, asylum and immigration issues. It had been my hope that it would have been published by now but it is part of the legislation waiting to be completed in the Attorney General's office. It is part of the Government's enormous legislative agenda and I have to take my turn with colleagues in the context of the different priorities. For my part this is priority legislation which will allow for a different approach in dealing with the issues of immigration and asylum.
The Senator strayed substantially beyond the question he put. One of the difficulties in this area is that there is not a single decision-making process. If an individual is refused asylum he or she can come back on another basis seeking to stay and there is a third basis on which one can seek to stay. If one is not happy with either of the legs of the process there is an appellate system, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, and there is also the issue of judicial review. Any person in the system for five, six, seven, eight or nine years is there because he or she made application for judicial review of some decision made during the process to the High Court. As a lawyer I take the view that individuals, if they feel their rights have been violated, are entitled to make applications to the courts and to have their issues properly adjudicated on. In so far as there are individuals in the system for the length of time the Senator has stated, it is because they usually have had all their applications refused at different stages and have taken a court application. There is an enormous backlog of these cases in the courts and dealing with some aspects of these cases often gets further delayed when issues are referred to the European court for adjudication.
Clearly, one of the difficulties in this area is that we have a number of individuals who seek asylum in the State who have genuine grounds for seeking asylum under the relevant international provisions in place and under our own domestic law. We also have a substantial number of people who are economic migrants and who present with stories seeking asylum which turn out to lack validity. There are individuals who adopt false identities, who pretend to come from troubled parts of the world when they do not. There are individuals who will claim to be in war zones and when the matter is further investigated it turns out they were in London, Birmingham or elsewhere when they alleged they were in the Sudan or some other troubled part of the world. This is a real problem in dealing with the asylum system.
As one who was very committed to human rights issues and constitutional issues for many decades before becoming a Minister, the practical difficulty in this area is the number of economic migrants who present false cases for seeking asylum, who manufacture histories that are untrue and who, essentially, block the system and create difficulties for the real asylum seekers. So far as there are difficulties in this area, they are spawned substantially by that problem. The difficulties are added to when children are born to them in Ireland who are innocent of their parents' conduct; that is, parents who have no valid reason to seek asylum and who have concocted and fabricated stories and because of the length of time in the system the children establish roots here. We need a more efficient and better system for dealing with applicants. That can only be fully in place when the new legislation is enacted. I hope it will be published later this year and that it will be processed swiftly.
The direct provision system is not ideal but it is a system which facilitates the State providing a roof over the head of those seeking asylum or seeking other grounds to be allowed, on humanitarian grounds, to stay in the State. It allows the State to do it in a manner that facilitates resources being used economically in circumstances where the State is under financial difficulty.
I do not claim that all direct provision facilities offered an ideal service in the past, but the system now includes a process of oversight of the properties in which direct provision is provided, as well as a complaints system. I wish to be very clear on this point. As Minister, I will not tolerate within the system any individual being discriminated against, racially abused or threatened in any shape or form. Within the context of the direct provision system, my officials have suggested to individuals who are providing facilities that they be upgraded where they are not proving adequate.
The Senator asked how many properties currently managed by NAMA are being used as accommodation centres for asylum seekers under the direct provision system. That question is based on a misapprehension as to the nature of the contractual relationship between the Reception and Integration Agency, the Department of Justice and Equality and those centres providing full-board accommodation to asylum seekers. The RIA is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers in accordance with the Government policy of direct provision and dispersal. As of today, there are 4,707 persons accommodated in 34 centres across the State. Details of these centres and the numbers being accommodated can be found on the RIA website. Seven of the centres are State owned, that is, while they are managed by private contractors under contract to the RIA, the land and buildings are owned by the State. The remaining 27 are commercially owned and operated.
The question of whether any commercially owned asylum accommodation centre is managed by NAMA is not relevant to the RIA. In fulfilling its general accommodation responsibilities, the latter does not own, lease or rent premises from commercial contractors. Rather, it contracts in a comprehensive range of services and facilities, including accommodation, housekeeping and so on, for a fixed sum over the period of a contract. It is a condition of contract with the RIA that the contractor has good title to the centre, but this does not specify either owning, renting or leasing the building concerned. The finance mechanism, whether loans or otherwise, used by the contractor for the provision of the service to the RIA is a matter solely for the contractor.
On the question of whether NAMA can divulge details of any property it may hold as security or where an enforcement action has been taken by the agency against a property, these issues are addressed on its website. My concern, as Minister, is that certain standards are maintained in direct provision centres such that the persons residing there are provided with accommodation that is reasonable and with food and other services as necessary. I wish we had a different system. In the current financial climate, however, there is no alternative. If, for example, the State were to close down direct provision, it would then have to fund the renting of apartments or homes by individual applicants, many of whom are economic migrants rather than genuine asylum seekers. I emphasise that some are genuine asylum seekers. It is not for me to pass judgment on any individual; we have a process for doing that. The State would inevitably incur enormous additional expense from a requirement to provide funding for renting properties and everything else that is necessary to maintain a home and feed a family.
I accept that the system is less than ideal, but it is one which, within the current resources of the State, offers a practical method of providing a roof over the head of individuals within the system. If we resolve our problems in this area such that all applicants finally have a determination and outcome, I would like then to have a system where all applications are determined within a maximum of six months. This will ensure that those residing unlawfully in the State are deported in a timely manner and those entitled to asylum or leave to remain for other reasons are facilitated in getting on with their lives in the shortest possible timeframe. It is not possible for that to happen, however, until we have a new legislative base. We must deal very carefully with these matters in order to ensure that people who are in the State unlawfully are subject to deportation. If that does not occur, it will be to the considerable disadvantage of those who seek to come here for economic reasons and who make proper use of our visa application process. The State would otherwise be overwhelmed by many thousands of economic migrants with no valid reason to come here and claiming to be asylum seekers.
Since taking office my Department has put in place systems which ensure that most cases are now processed extremely quickly and efficiently, in contrast to what happened in the past. However, the Senator is correct that a number of people have been awaiting a determination in their case for many years. Direct provision is the only way in which the State can afford to deal with these numbers at this time.
The figures I have been given show that in 2012 the Department spent €63.5 million on direct provision. My question regarding NAMA arises from the fact that properties in NAMA are ostensibly State-owned properties. If any of the companies contracted by the RIA to provide accommodation to asylum seekers are under the aegis of NAMA, are we not simply giving moneys from one arm of the State to another? In those circumstances, surely a deal could be done which would save money for the State, which saving could then be used to fast-forward the asylum applications process and so on. Will the Minister comment on this?
The Senator is incorrect in his conceptualisation of the position. I do not know whether any of the properties we are discussing are in NAMA, but the point is that it matters little either way. If one of the centres is in NAMA, all it means is that the company or individual who owns the property and is running the centre borrowed money from a bank at some time in the past which went towards the acquisition of the property and that the bank has subsequently, for whatever reason, transferred that loan to NAMA. The latter now holds the loan the property is secured against and the property owner is making the loan repayments to NAMA rather than the bank. If NAMA is recouping those loan repayments, it is doing so for the benefit of every taxpayer in the State in respect of the moneys that were put into the banking system to ensure those institutions remained solvent and functional.
In other words, the circularity to which the Senator referred is not in operation here. NAMA does not own the properties under its remit; it merely has each property secured against the loan the agency is seeking to have repaid. If any of the direct provision centres are under the remit of NAMA - as I said, I do not know whether this is the case - then in circumstances where the company that owns the property stopped repaying the loan, NAMA would then seek to repossess and thereafter possibly sell it. Any such property would cease to be a direct provision centre and one could not expect NAMA simply to present it to my Department. After all, the people of this country are paying a very high price to keep our banks financially viable. If money can be recouped that will eventually reduce the pressures taxpayers are facing, it is in everybody's interest that NAMA should seek to recoup it.
The manner in which the Senator conceptualises is just unfortunately incorrect. If he was correct, I might celebrate because it might be mean we could this at a lower cost but, unfortunately, he is not.
Local and Community Development Programme Project Funding
I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to raise the need for him to clarify the employment position of Leader and community funded scheme employees. I have concerns that the proposed realignment process his Department is undertaking as part of his local government reform agenda will lead to direct job losses without this group and the loss of economic opportunity in communities throughout Ireland. I would like to outline the importance of these groups to towns such as my own, Athenry, County Galway, where more than 30 people are employed at the Mellows Campus, Galway Rural Development Company Limited, GRD, through the Leader programme and Tús, rural social scheme and other schemes. Athenry has fallen victim to the recession and up to 30 commercial units are vacant. We cannot endure further losses of economic activity in the town. Thirty fewer people frequenting the place could have an adverse effect on local businesses and place them in jeopardy.
However, another worrying matter has been brought to my attention. I understand when the alignment working group sought expressions of interest, it forgot or did not include local action groups in my area as part of this process. Only the county council was requested to participate in the process. This is unfair and it is important that these groups get an opportunity to address some submissions by other parties which may implicate or affect them. The fairest way would be for the country council, GRD and other community funded schemes in County Galway to submit a combined expression of interest. I ask the Minister respectfully to consider this.
I would appreciate it if he would clarify what will happen to the employees in the eventuality of a consolidation of services within the county council structure.
I thank Senator Higgins for raising this important issue and for the opportunity to clarify many issues in the public domain in various communities. Groups have had many meetings in recent months to discuss this issue. Last October, the Government approved Putting People First - Action Programme for Effective Local Government, which included recommendations by an expert alignment steering group for enhancing alignment between local government and local development. The steering group made a number of recommendations aimed at improving co-ordination across the range of local publicly funded programmes, achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of those programmes and, most important, at improving the delivery of services to the citizen and communities.
Principal among these is a recommendation to establish socio-economic committees within each local authority area, with responsibility for strategic oversight and planning for a broad range of local and community development interventions at local level. When established, committee will bring together all relevant local actors in strategic collaboration. They will focus on intended outcomes including, developing a more integrated approach to publicly funded programmes, improved matching of resources to priorities, improved systems for impact measurement and assessment, more sustainable programme administration costs and the use of shared services where appropriate.
Socio-economic committees will be responsible for a broader range of publicly funded programmes and structures than those contracted to local delivery bodies, including local development companies. These companies will continue to have an important role in implementing the programmes for which they are contracted by my Department and others and they will be key partners on the committees. The committees are being advanced in ten pilot areas as agreed by the alignment working group, which includes the Irish Local Development Network that represents local development companies. Correspondence issued to all local authorities, both the ten pilot areas and the other remaining areas, on 18 April. The ten areas for which pilot socio-economic committees are being considered are Dublin City Council, Dún-Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Leitrim County Council, Roscommon County Council, Offaly County Council, Mayo County Council, Galway County Council, Limerick County Council and Cork County Council.
Alignment, in itself, is not intended to impact on the funding of local development companies. Programme and administration funding will continue to be provided and any suggestion that alignment will result in either the closure of local development companies or in significant job losses is not an accurate interpretation. The employment levels in local development companies such as the local community development programme, rural social scheme and Tús will depend on Exchequer funding, not EU funding. Of greater concern to the sustainability of local development companies is the reduction in programme funding that has been happening, and is likely to continue, in respect of the two main programmes local development companies deliver for my Department. There have been funding reductions on the local and community development programme and it is likely that Leader funding will be much reduced for the 2014 to 2020 programme period compared to the past seven years. These funding realities are likely to have a more notable impact on local development companies and employment. This adds to the compelling case for reform and for a more streamlined system, which is fit for purpose, eliminates unnecessary duplication and achieves better value for money. I believe the significant reform we are undertaking will place our local development system on a more sustainable footing, retain the expertise and experience of local development companies going forward and ensure the continuing delivery of quality services into our communities.
I ask partnership companies to desist from creating confusion about job losses at meetings and to tell people the true and accurate position. Approximately 1,900 people are employed under all these programmes throughout the State and the only programme for which funding is uncertain is the rural development programme, which employs approximately 250 people. This is due to the funding reduction we face arising from recent decisions by the EU regarding the multi-annual financial framework and the Common Agricultural Policy. There is some uncertainty about how many of the 250 people will be employed in the future based on what will be agreed with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the union in the months ahead regarding the rural development programme. However, employment under the remaining programmes is dependent on Exchequer funding and most of that employment is likely to continue.
I thank the Minister for his detailed response and for clarifying the position on the alignment working group, the expressions of interest which have been sought by it and funding issues. I stress that the security of jobs in Athenry and throughout the country is of paramount importance to the people and the towns and local communities that benefit from the economic activity generated by them. I also welcome the Minister's statement that alignment will not have an impact on funding, although there may be other issues relating to Exchequer funding, as well as his clarification that the suggestion that the closure of the local development companies will result in significant job losses is not accurate.
I am glad to have the opportunity to clarify that the position regarding the 30 people in Athenry and in every other Leader partnership company around the country, including in County Mayo, in which I am sure the Cathaoirleach will have an interest------
I am taking a keen interest in this.
There have been many public meetings in recent times and a great deal of confusion has been generated. I am sure the Cathaoirleach will be in a good position to clarify these issues and give people the true position regarding the fact that the funding for the rural development programme, through which a small number of the total of 1,900 people are employed, is under the greatest pressure.
Of the 30 people employed in Athenry, I suspect approximately five are involved in the rural development programme with the remaining 25 involved in the other programmes. The vast majority of the people employed in Athenry will continue to be employed but, equally, we have to look at the administrative funding and how we can eliminate the duplication of administrative structures to ensure the funding goes to the projects and the front-line services, which is what the funding is all about.
National Dementia Strategy Publication
A national dementia strategy has been promised in the programme for Government and I wish to ascertain its status. May is European month of the brain, which aims to promote understanding of the brain and the challenges we all face in dealing with complex diseases affecting it. Tomorrows is Alzheimer's Tea Day, which will highlight brain disease as well as the need to support families and carers of those who are affected.
There are 42,000 persons living with dementia in Ireland. It is difficult for all those involved. There is the stress of dealing with a family member or loved one, and considerable pressure on them to care for him or her. In the absence of a dementia strategy, that can become more difficult.
Last week the CSO produced figures that show the number of those over 65 is due to rise dramatically, from 532,000 to over 850,000 by 2026 and close to 1.4 million by 2046. I am not saying they all will have dementia but it is a disease that is linked with age. There is a growing elderly population. The instance of dementia is set to increase to between 140,000 and 145,000 by 2041, and it needs to be addressed. We need to ensure that there will be early detection of the disease so that support can be given and to restrict the development of the disease, but we also need to ensure that there is a strategy whereby if a family presents in such a situation, they know where they are going and the services that can be provided, and we can enhance community support services which are vital in this area. In light of the day that is in it tomorrow and the month that it is, it is time there would be a statement on the dementia strategy as it is long awaited by all involved in this area.
I thank Senator Deirdre Clune for raising this issue and giving the Minister for Health, for whom I am deputising this evening, an opportunity to outline progress to date towards developing a dementia strategy. I am aware of the Senator's personal interest in this subject.
With increases in the older population in the future, and particularly among the oldest, the prevalence of dementia will increase. Dementia is one of the major causes of disability in old age and in economic terms, the cost of dementia in Ireland is estimated to be €1.69 billion per annum. However, the economic cost is only a small part of the story. The personal cost and the medical, psychological and emotional impact is overwhelming.
The Government has given a commitment to develop a national dementia strategy by the end of this year to increase awareness of dementia, ensure early diagnosis and intervention, and develop enhanced community-based services. It is important that we are consistent in our thinking on all of the issues which affect those with dementia.
Last year, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, launched a national carers' strategy in recognition of the invaluable role and contribution of carers in Ireland. It places carers firmly on the national agenda and sets the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided for carers.
The Minister for Health recently published "Healthy Ireland", the national health and well-being framework, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, published the National Positive Ageing Strategy on 24 April. These plans take a whole-of-Government approach to promoting health and well-being and recognise that quality of life is affected by a range of interconnected social, economic and environmental factors. The national dementia strategy will build on these initiatives and will ensure that recognition is given that for those with dementia, well-being is also affected by a range of interconnected factors that are broader than those that are only health-related.
Last year saw the launch of "Creating Excellence in Dementia Care: A Research Review for Ireland's National Dementia Strategy", which gathered the evidence to inform the development of the strategy and which made a number of recommendations about key areas which should be focused on. The Department of Health recently completed a public consultation process to ensure that everybody with an interest had an opportunity to inform the development of the strategy. The key message which emerged from the consultation was the need to place the person with dementia, irrespective of settings, at the centre of service planning and decision-making processes about all aspects of his or her live. A recurring theme throughout the submissions highlighted the need for increased awareness and enhanced training for health professionals in all settings.
The Department of Health is about to set up a working group which will include a broad range of expertise and knowledge to help develop the strategy. It is the Minister's intention to finalise the strategy by the end of this year as promised. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is conscious of the constraints imposed by the budgetary situation but hopes that this strategy will be visionary and creative and lead to changes in work practices and processes and alignment of resources to deliver better results and promote quality of life and quality of care for those with dementia and for their families, their carers, and their friends and community.
I thank the Minister for his contribution. I am glad to hear that the strategy is still on track for development and delivery in 2013.
The Seanad adjourned at 7.15 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 9 May 2013.