Election 2020

When you meet a candidate in the General Election use our Voter Prompt Card to help outline the challenges and struggles you face. We need as many people as possible to highlight the crisis in dementia care.

Also, as part of our campaign we’re looking for personal stories to connect with the public to show people affected by dementia are living in crisis. Do you know of someone whose story could make a difference to the campaign? Contact Lisa on [email protected] / 01 2073804.

Please take 30 seconds to send this letter to your local TD which is asking them to pledge to deliver on dementia in the Programme for Government.

Click HERE to send your letter.

You can pledge your support to Deliver on Dementia in the next Programme for Government on social media (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram), simply stating you support the #DementiaPledge2020

You can complete this form to pledge your support to Deliver on Dementia in the next Programme for Government

Candidates can also fill out this online form to Pledge Your Support

Please view the list of candidates supporting the #DementiaPledge2020 in alphabetical order of constituency:

Jennifer Murnane O’Connor (FF, Carlow-Kilkenny)
Kathleen Funchion (SF, Carlow-Kilkenny)
John Paul Phelan (FG, Carlow-Kilkenny)
Bobby Aylward (FF, Carlow-Kilkenny)
Niamh Smyth (FF, Cavan-Monaghan)
Matt Carthy (SF, Cavan-Monaghan)
Pauline Tully (SF, Cavan-Monaghan)
Heather Humphreys (FG, Cavan-Monaghan)
Robbie Gallagher (FF, Cavan-Monaghan)
Brendan Smith (FF, Cavan-Monaghan)
Liam van der Spek (LAB, Cavan-Monaghan)
Rita McInerney (FF, Clare)
Cathal Crowe (FF, Clare)
Timmy Dooley (FF, Clare)
Theresa O’Donoghue (PBP, Clare)
James O’Connor (FF, Cork East)
Pat Buckley (SF, Cork East)
Kevin O’Keefe (FF, Cork East)
Pa O’Driscoll (FG, Cork East)
Padraig O’Sullivan (FF, Cork North Central)
Thomas Gould (SF, Cork North Central)
Mick Barry (PBP, Cork North Central)
Sinéad Halpin (SD, Cork North Central)
Michael Moynihan (FF, Cork North West)
Colette Finn (GP, Cork North West)
Aindrias Moynihan (FF, Cork North West)
Ciaran McCarthy (SD, Cork North West)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF, Cork South Central)
Patricia O’Dwyer (SD, Cork South Central)
Michael McGrath (FF, Cork South Central)
Margaret Murphy O’Mahony (FF, Cork South West)
Holly Cairns (SD, Cork South West)
Paul Hayes (SF, Cork South West)
Charlie McConalogue (FF, Donegal)
Pearse Doherty (SF, Donegal)
Padraig Mac Lochlainn (SF, Donegal)
Pat the Cope Gallagher (FF, Donegal)
Thomas Pringle (IND, Donegal)
Peter Casey (IND, Donegal)
Kevin Humphreys (LAB, Dublin Bay South)
Kate O’Connell (FG, Dublin Bay South)
Jim O’Callaghan (FF, Dublin Bay South)
Chris Andrews (SF, Dublin Bay South)
Peter Dooley (IND, Dublin Bay South)
Sarah Durcan (SD, Dublin Bay South)
Deirdre Heney (FF, Dublin Bay North)
Sean Haughey (FF, Dublin Bay North)
Denise Mitchell (SF, Dublin Bay North)
Michael O’Brien (PBP, Dublin Bay North)
Cian O’Callaghan (SD, Dublin Bay North)
Mary Fitzpatrick (FF, Dublin Central)
Gary Gannon (SD, Dublin Central)
Joe Costello (LAB, Dublin Central)
Mary Lou McDonald (SF, Dublin Central)
Gillian Brien (PBP, Dublin Central)
Sarah Louise Mulligan (IND, Dublin Central)
Louise O’Reilly (SF, Dublin Fingal)
Darragh O’Brien (FF, Dublin Fingal)
Dean Mulligan (I4C, Dublin Fingal)
Tony Murphy (IND, Dublin Fingal)
Paul Mulville (SD, Dublin Fingal)
Joe O’Brien (GP, Dublin Fingal)
Vicki Casserly (FG, Dublin Mid West)
John Curran (FF, Dublin Mid West)
Catriona McClean (FF, Dublin Mid West)
Gino Kenny (PBP, Dublin Mid West)
Eoin Ó Broin (SF, Dublin Mid West)
Mark Ward (SF, Dublin Mid West)
Francis Timmons (IND, Dublin Mid West)
David Gardiner (IND, Dublin Mid West)
Peter Kavanagh (GP, Dublin Mid West)
Dessie Ellis (SF, Dublin North West)
Ian Croft (IND, Dublin North West)
Stephen Redmond (NP, Dublin North West)
Andrew Montague (LAB, Dublin North West)
Róisín Shortall (SD, Dublin North West)
Sorcha Nic Cormaic (SF, Dublin Rathdown)
Shane Ross (IND, Dublin Rathdown)
Deirdre Conroy (FF, Dublin Rathdown)
Josepha Madigan (FG, Dublin Rathdown)
Neale Richmond (FG, Dublin Rathdown)
Catherine Ardagh (FF, Dublin South Central)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (SF, Dublin South Central)
Brid Smith (PBP, Dublin South Central)
Alan Kerrigan (IND, Dublin South Central)
Patrick Costello (GP, Dublin South Central)
Tara Deacy (SD, Dublin South Central)
Joan Collins (I4C, Dublin South Central)
John Lahart (FF, Dublin South West)
Charlie O’Connor (FF, Dublin South West)
Deirdre O’Donovan (FF, Dublin South West)
Sean Crowe (SF, Dublin South West)
Paul Murphy (RISE PBP, Dublin South West)
Mick Duff (IND, Dublin South West)
Aengus Ó Maoláin (SD, Dublin West)
Joan Burton (LAB, Dublin West)
Ruth Coppinger (PBP, Dublin West)
Jack Chambers (FF, Dublin West)
Cormac Devlin (FF, Dun Laoghaire)
Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP, Dun Laoghaire)
Mary Hanafin (FF, Dun Laoghaire)
Dave Quinn (SD, Dun Laoghaire)
Anne Rabbitte (FF, Galway East)
Sean Canney (IND, Galway East)
Donagh Mark Killilea (FF, Galway East)
Peter Reid (SD, Galway East)
Catherine Connolly (IND, Galway West)
Éamon Ó Cuiv (FF, Galway West)
Noel Grealish (IND, Galway West)
Conor Burke (PBP, Galway West)
Sean Kyne (FG, Galway West)
Mike Cubbard (IND, Galway West)
Norma Moriarty (FF, Kerry)
Norma Foley (FF, Kerry)
Frank O’Rourke (FF, Kildare North)
Réada Cronin (SF, Kildare North)
Bernard Durkan (FG, Kildare North)
Emmet Stagg (LAB, Kildare North)
Catherine Murphy (SD, Kildare North)
Linda Hayden (SD, Kildare South)
Fiona O’Loughlin (FF, Kildare South)
Fiona McLoughlin Healy (IND, Kildare South)
Martin Heydon (FG, Kildare South)
Barry Cowen (FF, Laois-Offaly)
Brian Stanley (SF, Laois-Offaly)
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (FG, Laois-Offaly)
Carol Nolan (IND, Laois-Offaly)
Jan O’Sullivan (LAB, Limerick City)
Maurice Quinlivan (SF, Limerick City)
Willie O’Dea (FF, Limerick City)
Maria Byrne (FF, Limerick City)
Tom Neville (FG, Limerick County)
Robert Troy (FF, Longford-Westmeath)
Sorca Clarke (SF, Longford-Westmeath)
James Reynolds (NP, Longford-Westmeath)
Peter Burke (FG, Longford-Westmeath)
Imelda Munster (SF, Louth)
Ruairí Ó Murchú (SF, Louth)
Topanga Bird (IND, Louth)
Declan Breathnach (FF, Louth)
Ged Nash (LAB. Louth)
Audrey Fergus (PBP, Louth)
Fergus O’Dowd (FG, Louth)
Rose Conway Walsh (SF, Mayo)
Saoirse McHugh (GP, Mayo)
Lisa Chambers (FF, Mayo)
Joe Daly (PBP, Mayo)
Deirdre Geraghty Smith (FF, Meath East)
Thomas Byrne (FF, Meath East)
Helen McEntee (FG, Meath East)
Shane Cassells (FF, Meath West)
Ronan Moore (SD, Meath West)
Orla Leyden (FF, Roscommon-Galway)
Michael Fitzmaurice (IND, Roscommon Galway)
Eugene Murphy (FF, Roscommon-Galway)
Eamon Scanlon (FF, Sligo-Leitrim)
Martin Kenny (SF, Sligo- Leitrim)
Marc MacSharry (FF, Sligo-Leitrim)
Shane Ellis (FF, Sligo-Leitrim)
John Perry (IND, Sligo-Leitrim)
Gino O’Boyle (PBP, Sligo-Leitrim)
Frank Feighan (FG, Sligo-Leitrim)
Imelda Goldsboro (FF, Tipperary)
Sandra Farrell (FF, Tipperary)
Seamus Healy (IND, Tipperary)
Mattie McGrath (IND, Tipperary)
Alan Kelly (LAB, Tipperary)
Jackie Cahill (FF, Tipperary)
Mary Newman Julian (FG, Tipperary)
Martin Browne (SF, Tipperary)
Michael Lowry (IND, Tipperary)
Joe Hannigan (IND, Tipperary)
Mary Butler (FF, Waterford)
David Cullinane (SF, Waterford)
John Cummins (FG, Waterford)
Una Dunphy (PBP, Waterford)
Marc Ó’Cathasaigh (GP, Waterford)
Brendan Howlin (LAB, Wexford)
Paul Kehoe (FG, Wexford)
Deirdre Wadding (PBP, Wexford)
Lisa McDonald (FF, Wexford)
James Browne (FF, Wexford)
Pat Casey (FF, Wicklow)
John Brady (SF, Wicklow)
Joe Behan (IND, Wicklow)
Jennifer Whitmore (SD, Wicklow)

Total no. of candidates = 191

● There are 55,000 people living with Dementia in Ireland today and that number is expected to double over the next 20 years to 113,000 in 2036.

● Each year over 4,000 people develop dementia. That’s at least 11 people every day and anyone can get dementia – even people in their 30s/40s/50s.

● 1 in 10 people diagnosed with dementia in Ireland are under 65.

● Dementia is the emerging health issue of our time and there is a crisis in dementia care.

● Access to community dementia care depends on where you live and no county in Ireland has an acceptable level of dementia support. It’s not just unfair, it’s a scandal.

● More must be done to address poor access to dementia services across Ireland. This is a blatant inequality in Irish society.

● People with dementia and their families are at breaking point dealing with inadequate services and supports.

● The harsh reality is that ordinary people up and down the country are currently being left to put up with dementia service and supports black holes across Ireland.

Day In the Life of  Carer – Louise & Rachel

“We don’t have time to get sick in our families as our parents, Tom and Carmel, need us to look after them and be on call 24/7. We are their voice, their protection and their care”.

Louise Smyth and Rachel Moloney both care for their parents Tom (90) and Carmel (74) who both have dementia.

Read their full story HERE

Day In the Life of  Carer – Teena Gates

“On a good day, dad’s digging daffodils and I’m boiling spuds and the whole world smells of sunshine and love. On a bad day, dad’s hiding under his duvet, shaking and crying, and afraid to come out because the whole world is scary and strange.”

Journalist and Broadcaster Teena Gates is full-time carer for her elderly father, Terry, who was diagnosed with dementia last year. This is the story of her typical day.

Read her full story HERE

Are you or someone you love living with dementia planning to vote in the General Election 2020 on Saturday, 8th February? Please click HERE for a brief guide on dementia and voting rights.