Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
903. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Health the efforts that are being taken by his Department to support brain health and dementia supports in communities as part of Budget 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14292/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government is committed to ensuring that those living with dementia have access to the right services and supports to help them to live well in their communities.
As Minister of State with Responsibility for Mental Health and Older People, I was delighted to secure an additional allocation of €7.3 million in Budget 2022 for dementia services and supports. I am confident that this investment will continue to improve diagnosis and access to services for people with dementia across the country, enabling people with dementia to live well for as long as possible.
The additional funding will allow for a range of measures to enhance services and supports for people with dementia. These services include:
- 5 new memory assessment and support services and one new regional specialist memory clinic in Galway
- Specialist diagnostic services for people with an intellectual disability through the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service in Tallaght University Hospital
- Enhancement of memory technology resource rooms to demonstrate assistive technology options for people living with dementia
- Implementation of a dementia minimum dataset across all care settings to standardise data collection and reporting
- 6 dementia assistant director of nursing posts (one in each hospital group) to improve quality and safety of care for people with dementia
- 4 additional dementia clinical nurse specialists to improve care pathways in acute care settings
- Undertake the third wave of the Irish National Audit of Dementia in acute hospitals
- Promote brain health and reduce the prevalence and delay the onset of dementia through collaboration with clinical programmes, the understand together campaign and dementia risk reduction group through the provision of a brain health project manager
In addition, the Government is committed to the development of improved community-based services, shifting care to the home, and offering greater choice for older people including people living with dementia. As Minister with responsibility for this area I have prioritised home support services so that additional funding secured in Budget 2021 to provide an extra 5 million hours has been maintained under Budget 2022. It is estimated that in 2021 some 20.4 million hours had been provided to over 55,000 people. This is about 2.9 million more hours compared to 2020, an increase of 17%.
In addition to the €7.3m for dementia services outlined above, the proportion of new home support hours ringfenced for people with dementia will more than double from 5% in 2021 to 11% in 2022.
Taken together, this will represent 15 million euro of investment dedicated to dementia specific supports and services in 2022, on top of the €12.9m of additional funding in 2021.
As the Deputy is aware I have long been an advocate for the development of services for people with dementia and their families and I am pleased to be able to continue the focused investment in these services and supports in 2022.
