Letters to the Editor: Election candidates must address the silent crisis of dementia
Pre General Picture: Morgan Of Ireland Society Ceo Launching Heffernan Andy Election Campaign Alzheimer Karen Its
As the CEO of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, an organisation that supports thousands of families across Ireland, I am deeply disheartened by the glaring omission of dementia and older peoples’ issues from the national discourse in this general election.
While housing, childcare, and other pressing issues dominate headlines and political platforms, 500,000 Irish people whose families have been affected by dementia are left out of the conversation.
Dementia is not an isolated issue; it is a national one. It affects every community, every constituency, and every generation. For those living with the condition, access to timely diagnosis, appropriate care, and adequate support services can make all the difference.
While I recognise that several political parties have included dementia and older person issues in their general election manifestos, for family carers — many of whom sacrifice careers and wellbeing to support loved ones — the lack of discourse surrounding these issues is worrying.
Despite its profound societal impact, dementia remains a silent crisis. Ireland still lacks sufficient specialist dementia services and post-diagnostic supports. Carers struggle to navigate fragmented systems, and rural communities face challenges due to a lack of accessible resources.
While there have been great strides during the term of the outgoing Government to provide dementia-specific support and services, the work is not complete. I call on all political parties to commit to concrete measures for those affected by dementia. Ireland urgently needs increased investment in dementia-specific care, and funding to fully implement the model of care.
We need to look at the need for a new dementia strategy with achievable targets, prepare for disease modifying therapies, make them accessible to all who need them, and a robust plan to support carers.
Ignoring the voices of hundreds of thousands of people is not just a political oversight: It is a moral failing. Dementia must no longer be relegated to the shadows of public debate. Let’s give this issue the attention it deserves — because every vote, every policy, and every action will count for those living with dementia and their families.
We are keen to contribute to this discourse. Our election manifesto, www.DementiaPledge.ie, outlines some of the critical areas we as a country must act on to address the needs of the dementia communities and for a growing population.
Given the combined importance of these industries, both for employment and taxes raised, it is highly irresponsible to have done so. We are paying dearly for this situation. These industries need a ministry of their own, and we need it now before it’s too late. The results are there for all to see.
The academic authors of the letter ‘Inadequate action means we now need emergency measures’ — Irish Examiner Letters, November 13 — don’t appear to notice that the ship has sailed in terms of their demands in relation to climate issues in Ireland.
Despite agreeing that Ireland has made significant progress, they are calling for fundamental and disruptive changes in current political priorities, and by inference, spending further billions of taxpayers’ money.
The Irish electorate, however, have made their opinion crystal clear in the recent local and European elections when they roundly rejected the apocalyptic message of the Green Party.
We in Ireland are not climate deniers by any means but most people fully recognise that our contribution to global warming and climate change is tiny at 0.1% of the global total. In global terms, our land mass is also tiny and there is general recognition that we have no historical record of polluting.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change also tells us that the major polluting culprits are members of the G7 and G20 countries such as China, USA, Russia, India, Brazil, and EU states, etc, which are responsible for over 70% of global emissions. China and India in fact are still opening coal mines today.
The wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan, as well as faction fighting throughout Africa, are daily spewing countless millions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere. It is expected that the recovery of Gaza and the Ukraine alone will generate many millions more, completely dwarfing Ireland’s contribution.
It is now accepted by the Environmental Protection Authority and the Climate Change Advisory Council that Ireland will not achieve its 2025 or 2030 targets.
Rather than spending billions trying to achieve clearly unattainable Paris Agreement goals, would the authors not be better to heed the advice of Nobel laureate Michael Spence, professor of economics at Stern School of Business at New York University, who suggests we would achieve much more by revising Paris to agree more feasible and attainable targets
If there’s one thing the recent US election proved it is that an alliance of wealthy, virtue-signalling celebrities and a deranged sycophantic media, is not necessarily a recipe for electoral success.
One would have thought that the Fourth Estate would have learned this lesson (the sight of grown journalists crying live on air, post election, was truly a vision to behold ). However, judging by Scott Lucas’s recent rant (Irish Examiner, November 15) obviously not so.
Donald Trump was blamed for everything from covid to the riots after the killing of George Floyd. The former was totally outside his control and, in retrospect, most rational commentators agree with Robert Kennedy that the official reaction was over the top, probably costing Mr Trump the 2020 election. The latter were most keenly felt in Democrat-controlled cities which refused to allow the police deal effectively with marauding mobs.
So no, Donald Trump, like most politicians, isn’t perfect. But at least, Mr Lucas, please critique him in a fair and objective manner.
As the general election looms nearer, it is important to ensure that the design of ballot papers has a neutral effect on the result. I have often wondered, for example, whether the usual listing of the candidates’ names in alphabetical order has any influence on the fairness or otherwise of the election result.
A peer-reviewed study by Theresa Reidy and Fiona Buckley of the UCC Department of Government using data from the 2009 local elections in Ireland, has indeed demonstrated that in many circumstances this method of listing confers a disadvantage to those in the middle of the list.
The study recommended that a system of random ordering of ballot positions should be implemented so as to ensure that each candidate appears at each ballot position an equal number of times.
What is the point of such detailed and careful investigations if they are ignored?
In recent years one can observe the poor maintenance of both civic and privately-owned historical buildings in the centre of Irish cities and large towns. “Not enough chimney pots,” a politician told me. What he meant is that there are little or no Dáil votes to be had in city centre areas any more. Permanent residents have moved out to the suburbs. They only come into the centre for a parade or a charity event.
Social and private housing which was within walkable distance of schools and shops have being sold off and turned into short-term lucrative rental accommodation with no policing of rent pressure zones. Only the most enthusiastic desperate politician will spend time seeking out the rare permanent resident to get a second or third preference.
The demise of our cities is lack of permanent residents, online shopping, and “no one living over the shop” and high rates for small businesses.
There will be no revitalisation of Irish cities unless measures are taken to bring permanent residents back into the centre of our towns and cities with all public facilities within walking distance.
It seems the latest entrant to the health insurance market brings a very competitive edge in terms of cost to the consumer.
Perhaps more significant is that the new insurer offers just four insurance plans. This is in stark contrast to the profusion and inscrutability of what the market currently offers, some 350 plans between three companies, which greatly diminishes the customer’s ability to undertake any cost-benefit assessment with confidence.
While the Health Insurance Authority, which regulates the private health insurance market in Ireland, helps in comparing the various plans, and recently urged all concerned in the health insurance market, including insurers and policymakers, to collaborate on simplifying and streamlining the market, it has not effected a transparent, interpretative, and consumer-friendly process for consumers.
Hopefully, we are now on the cusp of much-needed change, not only in cost but in clarity on what the market offers.