Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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548. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to the Exchequer of doubling funding for dementia day care at home. [39845/24]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to the Exchequer of increasing the number of dementia advisers by five, ten and 15 posts. [39846/24]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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550. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to the Exchequer of doubling the rollout of early age dementia supports. [39847/24]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 548, 549 and 550 together.

Since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People in 2020, I have worked to progressively increase funding for dementia services and supports so that every person with dementia, and their families, has the support that they need to live as well and as independently as possible.

Total dementia day care at home funding currently stands at €2,300,720 and a doubling of this figure would result in a total cost of €4,601,440. In Budget 2025 an additional €250,000 in funding has been provided to increase the provision of dementia day care at home, bringing the total budget for this important support to €2.55 million for 2025.

At a cost of €70,836 per post, an additional 5, 10 and 15 dementia adviser posts would cost €354,180, €708,360 and €1,062,540 respectively. I have allocated €0.4 million in Budget 2025 to recruit 5 new dementia advisers and upgrade three posts to regional leads. This will bring the total number of advisers across Ireland to 34. Dementia advisers play a pivotal role in providing free and confidential supports and signposting to help connect people with essential services, often at a time of crisis.

Services for people with young onset dementia are provided in many parts of the health and social care system, including in acute hospitals, mental health services, disability services, and in dementia-specific services like Regional Specialist Memory Clinics, dementia adviser services and day care services. In Budget 2024, €0.3 million was allocated to ASI specifically for the development of 10 activity clubs for people with young onset dementia in Budget 2024 and this support has now been mainstreamed. To double the number of activity clubs to 20 would require an additional €300,000, bringing the total cost to €600,000.

Overall in Budget 2025, an additional €2.3 million has been provided to improve access to dementia diagnosis and care. This brings the total new investment in a range of dementia services and supports since 2021 to €19 million.