A Local TD has called on the government to guarantee a funding package of €19 million to support infrastructure and community supports that have been deemed essential by The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI).
Independent TD Carol Nolan made the call to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.
Deputy Nolan was speaking after attending a briefing by the ASI which heard that that there is a growing need for dementia-specific care for thousands of people across the country.
Deputy Nolan said: “I was honoured to attend the ASI briefing and to offer my support to the ASI and its dedicated team of workers and volunteers who go to make up such a wonderful and critically important organisation.
“The ASI are asking for a minimum of €2.5m for dementia-specific day centres and €1.7m funding to enable Community Day Care at Home Services to be maintained.
“Indeed we know that up to 57,000 hours of Day Care at Home will be delivered this year, and that must continue especially in an environment of growing need.
“This will be essential in the years ahead because as I understand it from the ASI, the prevalence of dementia in Ireland has increased from 54,000 to 64,000.
“We also know that there is an ongoing fallout from the closure of Day-Care centres during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I know from my previous engagements with the Alzheimer’s Society that the average weekly cost of a bed is c. €1,100 in a care home and c. €5,700 in an acute hospital, but the average cost of a weekly intensive home care package (average 33hrs) is €745 per week.
“This means that Family carers of people with dementia provide a value to the State of €807 million per annum.
“Supporting the prudent and reasonable budget requests of organisations like the ASI makes sense on every level; financial, emotional, psychological and medical,” Deputy Nolan concluded.
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