Push for Cavan to become more dementia inclusive

Cavan County Council is being urged to support towns and villages to become more dementia friendly.

The matter was raised by Sinn Féin’s Damien Brady at the council meeting last week.

He said, in 2020, there were 1,058 people in Cavan living with dementia, a condition that impacts memory and thinking.

Cllr Brady said “not everyone” will experience all the symptoms of dementia, and it is “not possible to tell how the disease will progress”. There is “no cure” but there “is medication”.

In terms of making Cavan more inclusive when it comes to dementia, he praised the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, which became the first dementia friendly hotel in Ireland last year. The initiative came to be after a member of staff came forward and asked what could be done to make the hotel more dementia friendly, as a member of his own family had dementia.

Cllr Brady outlined how “little changes” made a “huge difference” within the hotel, such as having different coloured bathroom and entrance/exit doors.

“Can we encourage towns and villages to become more dementia friendly?” he asked, suggesting training sessions for members of staff and communities, information events within communities, or a memory walk. He also asked the council to consider “dementia friendly” signage.

Cllr John Paul Feeley gave “credit” to the Slieve Russell for the “very simple but very effective” measures they introduced, and acknowledged the “great” local response to the recent FTD brothers’ visit to Cavan. He said the brothers here definitely “getting something good out of a difficult situation”.

Speaking from experience, Cllr Feeley emphasised the importance of “having the power of an attorney in place well before anything should happen” to a person. He said people must be “IT literate” to deal with this process, which should be “more user friendly.”

Cllr Philip Brady (FF) supported the motion, and praised the “great work” done at the day centre in Cavan. Meanwhile, Cllr Áine Smith (FF) said it is “time to put more pressure” on as she believes “more can be done” to make the county more inclusive for those with dementia. She too praised the “great work” that has already taken place.

Cllr Patricia Walsh (FF) also supported the motion, and praised the Cavan Alzheimer Society’s Forget Me Not Cafe initiative. She noted the “great turnout” when the FTD brothers came to Cavan for their campaign to raise more awareness on dementia and to raise funds for research.

Cllr T.P. O’Reilly (FG) suggested that the council provide workshops on dementia, which all businesses would sign up to. He said “we all know someone” who is affected by dementia.

“Anything that we can do to support people with dementia, I would like to see it happening,” he said.

The motion also received support from Cllrs Niamh Brady (FG), Brendan Fay (Ind), Stiofan Conaty (SF), Trevor Smith (FG), and Clifford Kelly (FF).

The council executive described the motion as “very worthy” and said the council will be going to public consultation in the next few months on a dementia inclusive plan, which would include awareness events and working with businesses.

Sixty businesses within the county are currently recognised as dementia friendly, while there is “quite a lot” the council is currently doing regarding accessibility in this area.