Joe Flaherty
Question:196. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of dementia advisers currently in place; the number that are to be recruited in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59354/21]
View answerFriday, 3 December 2021
Questions (196)
Written answers
As Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People, I have long been a supporter of the dementia advisor service. In line with the Programme for Government, an additional 10 dementia advisors were recruited in 2020. In 2021, I secured additional funding of €0.9 million for a further 11 posts for the dementia advisor service.
I was delighted to launch the expansion of the service on the 10th November. This recent expansion has enabled the service to be provided on a nationwide basis. It brings the total number of dementia advisor posts to 28 nationally along with a dementia co-ordinator post. All dementia advisors posts are expected to be filled by year end, with 25 of these posts already in place.
Building on the investment made in 2021 for dementia services, I secured an additional €7.3 million for dementia services and supports as part of Budget 2022. In addition, the proportion of 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. Taken together this will represent €15 million of increased investment in dementia in 2022.
The Health Service Executive’s National Service Plan 2022 has not yet been finalised and, as such, the sub-allocation has yet to be formally agreed. The details will be finalised over the coming weeks with the HSE through the National Service Plan process. However, as previously announced areas for investment will include memory assessment and support services, memory technology resource rooms, the national intellectual disability memory service and a dementia registry.