Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 September 2021
662. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health if the pre-budget submission for an organisation (details supplied) has been brought to his attention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46155/21]
View answerI received a pre-budget submission from Alzheimer's Society of Ireland on September 9th 2021 which my Department and I have considered ahead of Budget 2022.
As Minister of State with Responsibility for Mental Health and Older People I am committed to the implementation of the Irish National Dementia Strategy, which aims to improve how we provide care for people living with dementia. The National Dementia Office, established within the HSE, oversees implementation of the Strategy.
As the Deputy will be aware in Budget 2021, the Government allocated €12.9 million for a number of dementia specific measures. This allocation comprised of €7m for an additional 250,000 hours of home support for people living with dementia, €0.9m to expand the dementia advisor service operated by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and €5m for implementation of the National Dementia Strategy.
With regards to allocation of funding for 2022, as the Deputy will appreciate, I cannot comment at this stage on the outcome of the estimates process, or matters which will be the subject of national service planning in 2022.
