Richard Boyd Barrett accuses government of betraying dementia patients
Richard Boyd Barrett accused the government of betraying dementia sufferers after future admissions to St. Joseph's dementia care facility in Shankill were closed. He said the government had failed to honour promises and called for the NTPF to treat dementia patients and families with respect.
Allegation of broken promises
He told the chamber that the minister had assured him and others the doors would not close to St. Joseph's, but that future admissions have been halted. He described the decision as a betrayal of both current and future dementia sufferers and their families.
Impact on residents and families
He emphasised the issue was personal, citing loved ones who died in St. Joseph's, a friend who is currently a resident, and others who will soon need such care but now cannot secure admission. He argued the government was failing to acknowledge the high dependency, special care requirements of many dementia patients.
NTPF review and government responsibility
He noted that the Taoiseach had promised a review of the NTPF to be completed in 2017, a review which has not appeared. He rejected the suggestion that the NTPF operates outside government responsibility, saying public funds allocated by the government obligate it to ensure dementia care is respected.
Government response and negotiations
The minister replied that the government has supported St. Joseph's, is renegotiating arrangements and will continue support. The minister said security for current residents and staff has been offered and secured and that extra financial resources have recently been provided to expand access to daycare services.
Ongoing dispute over future outcome
Richard Boyd Barrett said such measures fall short of a final, secure outcome for the facility and its future admissions. He stressed negotiations are ongoing and that he remains unconvinced the long-term needs of high-dependency dementia patients are being addressed.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Deputy Richard Bight-Barrett I'm not exaggerating when I say the government is betraying dementia sufferers and their families, both present and future, in their failure to honour their promises to keep the doors of St. Joseph's dementia care facility in Shankill open. The Minister said the doors would not close to St. Joseph's, to me and others, and now the doors have closed to future admissions. Now, Minister, for me and for many people in the area, this is personal. I've had loved ones who ended their days in St. Joseph's, I have a personal friend who's in there now, and I have people close to me who will be looking to go there in the very near future, as have others. And they will not be able to go because this government is refusing to acknowledge the high dependency, special care requirements of dementia patients. Many, many dementia patients. And, by the way, Leo Varadkar promised there would be a review of the NTPF to be completed in 2017, and it's dealing with this precise matter which has never appeared. And what the fact is, the government is not acknowledging the high dependency care needs of dementia sufferers. And this business of, oh, we've nothing to do with the NTPF, that's nonsense. This is public money allocated by the government. You have every right and, indeed, obligation to tell the NTPF to treat dementia care sufferers and their families with respect. If you're in a position to answer, I'll get the relevant, Minister. No, I'll answer. First of all, Deputy, most of the things that we do here to us is personal. That's why we're here, because we care, because otherwise we wouldn't be here. And so you don't have a monopoly on caring about St. Joseph's. We've had this conversation with one of your colleagues from Sinn Féin, probably not less than half an hour ago. And the government has supported St. Joseph's and is in the current position of renegotiating and will continue to support St. Joseph's. And so the security that was asked for, for the current residents and the staff of the home, has been offered and secured. And extra financial resources have been put in the last number of weeks to ensure that more people can be given access to the daycare services. This is an ongoing and evolving situation. I'm sorry, Minister, without interruption. I'm sorry, like, with respect, you don't like what's already been done, because we haven't got to the final outcome of what the future security of the organisation is going to be. But the work is in progress and the negotiations are going on. And as a sign of our sincere commitment to St. Joseph's, not only have we given security to the people who already live there, but we've given extra money and resources to allow them to take extra day patience. If you can't see that as a genuine sign of commitment of moving forward, I give up. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
