I also commend the Alzheimer Society of Ireland on the work it has done. I thank its members for being here in the Gallery. Like everyone else, I commend Cian and Jordan Adams on the spectacular work they have done in shining a light on dementia, particularly frontotemporal dementia. Early onset dementia has a huge impact on families. It had a huge impact on Cian and Jordan's family when they lost their much-loved mother, Geraldine, at 52. I cannot imagine the impact that had. I was very taken with something Cian said. He said they were delighted when their sister, Kennedy, discovered that unlike Cian and Jordan she did not have the gene that leads to FTD. I do not know how the rest of us here would deal with all of that. Cian and Jordan have shown a huge level of courage and bravery in what they have done, raising money and highlighting the issue as they ran 33 marathons in 33 days. That is where bravery and courage meet absolute madness. As much as I am commending them now, when I ran with them in Dundalk, I thought they were absolutely fabulous in the beginning but when I got to Ballymac and started to trail them, I was not too impressed with them when they suddenly spurted on. I forgave them at the very end. In fairness, they were really commendable in how they dealt with people, including young people. They engaged and took photographs and everything. It became a brilliant family affair. They also make great use of social media. An awful lot of people have told me that we get an awful lot of material that is not good on our feeds: disinformation, misinformation and downright bad stuff. For a period, over those 33 days and beyond, we saw the best of us and the best of Cian and Jordan. I thank them very much for that. Getting down to the business end, dementia impacts 69,000 people in Ireland and possibly up to 150,000. We know that there are failings as regards our national dementia strategy. We need a framework covering home care and nursing homes. It should also cover brain health, which the Minister of State mentioned, therapies and respite. It is about putting it all together. Many others here have been thinking about their relatives. I think of my granny, Maryanne Murphy. She got great support and help in St. Oliver Plunkett nursing home in Dundalk. I commend the staff there. She was a strong and formidable woman. She might have been glad to see me as a TD, although it is fair to say she probably would not have been glad to see me as a TD for Sinn Féin. She was more similar to the Minister of State in that sense.

Sentiment score: 0.26

The Minister of State would probably say she was a very sensible woman. It was a very difficult situation for my father but St. Oliver Plunkett nursing home was the right place for her to be. It is about providing supports but also about doing the work as regards research. If we can help to save people like Cian and Jordan from the likes of FTD, we need to do so.

Sentiment score: 0.21