Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2025
857. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health her response to the request by an organisation (details supplied) for a €9 million investment in dementia-specific supports in budget 2026, including community daycare, home support, and dementia advisory services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36182/25]
View answer859. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline plans to expand counselling supports for people living with dementia and family carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36184/25]
View answer860. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Health if funding has been allocated in budget 2026 to support the implementation of the national dementia registry and the continued roll-out of the memory assessment support services model of care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36185/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 857, 859 and 860 together.
Since becoming Minister of State with responsibility for Older People, I have been working to support people with dementia and their families and will continue to prioritise their needs and build on the existing provisions that focus on person-centred care.
On 23 May 2025, I announced that implementation of the National Dementia Registry for Ireland had commenced. The HSE through National Dementia Services, the Enhanced Community Care Programme and the National Centre for Clinical Audit, has commissioned the National Office for Clinical Audit, to develop, implement and maintain the Registry, with the development phase due to take approximately three years. The Registry is intended to improve patient care quality and clinical outcomes for people with dementia, provide data for service planning, feed into policy development, and facilitate research.
Over the past five years, €19 million in new funding for dementia has been provided, including €2 million in Budget 2025, focusing both on community-based services and new diagnostic and post-diagnostic support services, which I will work to progressively increase and improve upon.
Additionally, since Budget 2021, funding has been provided for the Carer’s Guarantee to provide a core basket of services to family carers across the country, regardless of where they live. Annual funding of €2.6 million is currently provided towards delivering the Carer’s Guarantee, in tandem with the community and voluntary sector across five areas of activity, including: counselling and psychosocial supports, education and training, community carer supports, intensive and emergency supports and a freephone careline. The Programme for Government 2025 commitment to “fully fund the Carer’s Guarantee,” will be delivered over the lifetime of the Government.
As part of the 2026 Estimates process, my department will fully consider the requests set out by the Deputy in relation to further expanding and progressing dementia services to support people with dementia and their families, in order to ensure that they can live as well and as independently as possible.
