Ciara Kelly has said the support for people with Alzheimer's is “scanty at best” and it is “unfair” what their families have to go through.
A report by Alzheimer Society of Ireland found that only one in five living with dementia are able to get the care they need.
It is something that Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly has personal experience of.
“The vast majority of people who have dementia, or people whose loved ones have dementia, can’t access the services they need,” she told listeners.
“We’re talking about basic services like home help hours - they’re few and far between and if you can’t get enough, you have to pay huge money for them, which most people can’t afford.”
The Long Goodbye
Some 64,000 people in Ireland are thought to be living with dementia and, as the population ages, the number is predicted to rise to 150,000 by the year 2050.
Despite this, Ciara feels the State is not doing nearly enough to support those suffering from the disease
“I actually think we run our dementia services in the same way we run our disability services, we have an allocated budget and it goes as far as it goes and we make no actual attempt to meet the need [of people], we just throw some money at it and when that’s gone, it’s kind of gone,” she said.
“I do have huge sympathy because I’ve walked this road, my Mum, who died in 2017, she had dementia and it is an extraordinary thing to watch someone you love slip away from you.
“I remember writing about it at the time and calling it ‘The Long Goodbye’ because you’re dealing with your Mum or you Dad or your husband or your wife and they don’t recognise you anymore, they don’t remember your shared life, they don’t even know your name sometimes.
“I can’t tell you how upsetting that is, you still love them, you still know them, you still have all the memories in your head and they’re still looking at you as if you are a stranger.
“It’s a really cruel disease, not only for the person who is slipping away but for the people around them and the support is scanty at best and it is cruel.
“I don’t think we even attempt to meet the need, I think we just have a budget and when it’s gone, it’s gone and I think it is so unfair.”
'How unfair it is as well'
She added that many people are unaware of just how little support there is out there for them.
“When families end up starting down this road, they have no idea how unsupported they’re going to be and that’s part of the shock of the whole thing,” Ciara said.
“To be honest, when I think about it, it kind of makes me angry because it reminds me of how awful a time it is for families and how unfair it is as well.”
Main image: Ciara Kelly.
