Budget 2020
Budget 2020
The Government’s decision to provide funding for 10 more Dementia Advisers in Budget 2020 has been welcomed by The Alzheimer Society of Ireland as a first step in dealing with the inadequate and glaring gaps in services and supports that have been identified across the country. This follows years of neglect of people with dementia in recent Budget Day announcements.
The ASI also welcomes the one million additional home care hours which will be provided in 2020 as home care was another key ask of our Pre-Budget campaign. This will help support people with dementia to live at home in an environment that is familiar to them and where the majority of people with dementia want to be.
This announcement is acknowledgment that there is finally some understanding at Government level of the harsh realities faced by ordinary people up and down the country; people with dementia and their family carers are currently being left to put up with dementia service and supports black holes across Ireland.
● Read Budget 2020 Reaction Press Release (October 9th 2019) HERE
In July, we launched our Pre-Budget Submission 2020 ‘Dementia Supports Across Ireland – Still Asking, Still Waiting, Still Struggling’ which called on the Government to fund vital community supports and home care that are so desperately needed to help thousands of people living with dementia and their struggling families across Ireland.
Our Pre-Budget Submission 2020 outlines the urgency of the situation and makes the case for why the Government must deliver extra funding for dementia-specific supports and services on Budget Day after years of false dawns:
- Still Asking: People with dementia and their carers are still asking the Government why no county in Ireland has even a minimum standard of supports and services. The time to provide funding is now.
- Still Waiting: People with dementia and their carers are still waiting for equitable and fair access to the supports and services that they desperately need. The time for action is now.
- Still Struggling: People with dementia and their carers are still struggling on a daily basis, sometimes silently and painfully, due to the lack of services and supports. The time to end this struggle is now.
We called on the Government to invest:
Still Asking, Still Waiting, Still Struggling Campaign Videos
A special video was also launched featuring Dr Helen Rochford Brennan, member of the Irish Dementia Working Group (IDWG), who has been an active campaigner on behalf of The ASI for well over six years. Helen, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2012, has witnessed many disappointments as successive Budget Days have passed without ring-fenced funding being announced for dementia.
Sean Donal O’Shea is a member of our Dementia Carers Campaign Network (DCCN) cared for his Mother, Debby, who had dementia. Sean Donal and his family have been asking, waiting and struggling for dementia supports for over 10 years. We are asking members of the public to stand with Sean Donal and support people affected by dementia to call on the Government for more supports in Budget 2020.
Kathy Ryan is chair of our Irish Dementia Working Group (IDWG) was diagnosed with Younger onset Alzheimer’s in 2014. For over five years Kathy has been asking, waiting and struggling for more support and services for people with dementia but her Government has refused. Kathy is angry and she wants the Government to know.
Become an E-Campaigner
Please join us by adding your voice to the thousands of others who are helping us campaign for better services and supports for people with dementia and their families.
Sign up HERE
Contact your local TD
Please take 30 seconds to send this letter to your local TD which is asking them to pledge their support to lobby government to provide a minimum leverl of dementia supports in every county.
Click HERE to send your letter.
County-by-County Breakdown of Services
The ASI has the body of evidence to prove that people living with dementia and their families are still dealing with inadequate services and supports. In 2018 a mapping project carried out by ASI and National Dementia Office (NDO) shows that not only does access to community dementia-specific services vary depending on where you live, but no county has even a minimum level of dementia support.
Please click HERE and go to the Dementia and Your Area section.
Previous Pre-Budget Submissions
You can find our previous Pre-Budget Submissions below: