Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1758. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the outstanding measures in the National Dementia Strategy; the estimated additional funding this requires for full implementation; the basis on which this funding must be made available that is, one-off or recurring; the revenue and capital split of this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35466/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraA key commitment in the Programme for Government is 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.
As some detail in this Parliamentary Question relates to operational issues, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
