The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is seeking support in Budget 2025 to increase its Day Care at Home offering in Donegal.
Areas such as Downings, Cresslough, Letterkenny and Donegal Town are seeing a high demand for dementia supports and services.
The society says it needs €1,000,000 to expand the reach of the services across all areas across the country. In addition, the ASI is calling on the Government to invest €600,000 in the expansion of Day Centres outside major cities.
This is part of an investment of €5.5m needed to addeess disparities in dementia services and supports across different regions in Ireland.
The ASI delivered 78,125 hours of dementia-specific Day Care at Home delivered in 2023. Day Care at Home meets an urgent unmet need for people with dementia and their families by providing variety, stimulation, and personalised enjoyable activities.
The ASI’s Head of Advocacy, Research and Public Affairs, Cormac Cahill said: “In Ireland, 63% of people with dementia live at home in their communities and as the prevalence of dementia in Ireland continues to rise, the gap between services and need widens. There is not equitable access to dementia services and supports across Ireland and there is a pressing need to address this in Budget 2025.
“We appreciate the support from this Government, particularly Minister Mary Butler and her continued understanding and funding of much-needed dementia services and the support of the All-Party Oireachtas Group on Dementia. This support has led to considerable improvement in the level of dementia supports in Ireland. However, given the rising need and the immense challenges faced by people impacted by dementia, extra funding in Budget 2025 is required to build on the investment in recent years and help to address these challenges.”
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