Every day in Ireland, 30 new cases of dementia are diagnosed. Yesterday, there were 30 new cases of dementia and tomorrow there will be a further 30 new cases of dementia. That initial diagnosis is absolutely devastating for every family. Having one person with that diagnosis impacts the whole family. That shows the importance of having dementia advisers in place. Between 2016 and 2020, I co-chaired the all-party committee with the former Senator, Colette Kelleher. At that stage, we had about eight dementia advisers in the country. I believe we now have 37. The difference they have made to every person who gets that diagnosis cannot be underestimated. When people get a dementia diagnosis they are devastated. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to dementia. Dementia advisers wrap their arms around the patient and the family. They give advice that is tailored to the individual and they also support the family. We know that an awful lot of older people in Ireland with dementia, including my own godfather, can live very well in their own communities with the wrap-around supports of the 62 specific day centres that we have. Some of them still go to the other 320-odd day centres around the country until it comes to a stage when it is just not suitable any more. Day care support in the home is an absolutely amazing facility to have. During the Covid pandemic, I was delighted to partner with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. I acknowledge many of its members who are here today, including Andy, Kathy, Siobhán and Kevin Quaid who has been doing advocacy in relation to Lewy body dementia for many years. During the pandemic, day centres were closed because of Covid. People with dementia were at home and could not leave the house but we were able to fund day services in the home. My aunt gets a block of three hours on a Wednesday morning and she is able to go to the golf club. Those three hours are precious to her because she is living this 24-7 with her beloved husband, my godfather. Having those wrap-around supports is absolutely vital. We cannot underestimate how important they are. When someone gets a diagnosis they have an adviser, who is invaluable. I cannot say that often enough. They have dementia-specific support. We now have up to 62 days centres. Only in the last week, I was delighted to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, down to Cappoquin in west Waterford where, working with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, we opened another day service which is open three days a week. This provides a specific day of respite for families of someone with dementia. Their loved one can go there from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., which gives them the vital respite they need. The importance of that is that we already have the premises. We are using the physical capacity we have, which we can expand. We are able to deliver that service for 40,000 for a whole year, one day a week, in a premises we already have. I want to talk briefly about the partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. I have partnered with many organisations. Six years ago last week, I was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for older people and mental health and I my role now is as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. We have to partner with our NGOs, and one of the best partnerships I have experienced has been with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. I cannot compliment it enough on the work it does because every single cent that goes to the organisation from the budget is spent on services. There is no fuss, no frills and no fancy, just the services people need. The Minister knows very well that the importance of having ring-fenced, specific funding cannot be underestimated. I have just come from Ballyfermot, where I opened an early intervention in psychosis team, our tenth team. The reason that was opened was because it was ring-fenced, specific funding that was not spent on anything else. I was the Minister of State in 2020 who made dementia supports critical, ring-fenced and specific. The money could not be used for any other reason, other than for those services only. We have to continue to do that, and I know the Minister will do so. I give a shout-out to Jordan and Cian Adams, who are here today with their family remembering their beloved mother, Geraldine. She would be so proud of them today. I guarantee she is looking down on them and thanking them, as do I, for all the advocacy they are doing for every single person around the world, especially here in Ireland, who is living with dementia because it is not easy.

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