The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is calling on the government urgently to invest 15 million euro to address the shortage in dementia day care services in some counties including Cork.
The Chief Executive of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Pat McLoughlin said that while some Day Care services have returned, there are no set plans yet to reopen the centres in Bandon and Midleton because of a lack of suitable facilities.
The ASI says that capital funding is urgently needed to make existing facilities Covid compliant, but also because of the growing demand for day care services.
Speaking to RedFM News, Pat McLoughlin of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, said that many larger areas are in pressing need of dedicated facilities:
"Given the numbers of people who are likely to have dementia over the next 10 to 20 years, we really need to put in a more certain infrastructure. And there is a need for a National Development Plan to include capital so that we can have centres that we're sure of, and that can be purpose built. So that's what we're asking the government to do, to establish a fund. So we're constantly trying to see if we can work out a solutions locally, but when you look at some of the large areas that don't have centres - they certainly are going to need a dedicated centre and we believe that the government should provide the capital for that."
