The number of people suffering from dementia in Ireland is set to treble over the coming generation. Currently there is a little under 50,000 sufferers in Ireland but is predicted to reach 150,000 within a generation.
Today the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children will be debating how best to improve the lives of people with dementia.
Newstalk reporter Kieran Cuddihy met a family struggling to care for a loved one who suffers from dementia, speaking with Helen, who cares for her father full-time, while the HSE reduces his level of care.
Helen spoke to Kieran about the struggle, and pain, of caring for a parent as the illness takes over. When she brings her father to hospital appointments he holds her hand now.
"It's like having a child, but in reverse," Helen said.
Listen below to Kieran Cuddihy’s report, and the subsequent interview with Tina Leonard, Head of Advocacy & Public Affairs at The Alzheimer Society of Ireland
