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MINISTER OF STATE for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan was present at the opening of a café for those with dementia in Ringsend yesterday.
Officially launched on Tuesday at the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre (RICC), the dementia café, as well as the centre’s new tranquility and sensory gardens, are aimed at “tackling the isolation faced by older people, particularly people with dementia and their carers/families.”
The RICC launched the venture in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland “to provide a much needed social outlet, not only for local residents with dementia, but also providing a social outlet for their relatives/carers, while facilitating access to information and support”.
Lorraine Barry, Services and Development Manager at the RICC said: “We want to provide a space within this community where you can walk in the door and say ‘I think I might have an issue with dementia.’ And they see a friendly face to talk to, a cup of tea, working in partnership with the ALS. We want to create that space.”
Barry also called on the Government to provide more support for local schemes such as these.
“If I had a message for the minister today, and for the public representatives, I would say look at what we’re doing in the community, look at the supports, the work that’s going on… Please consider us when you’re making decisions around where you’re putting funding,” Barry said.
“I know some of our guys are on schemes here, but if I said to come in 12 o’clock on Sunday, they’d do it. They give so much back. We’ve survived because we’re doing it on a shoestring, but we could always do with support.”
In her speech, Minister Madigan credited “the commitment and dedication and team effort” of the community centre staff.
“Certainly I’ll be bringing the message back to Government of the incredible work done here, and working closely with Oireachtas colleagues and local councillors to see what we can do to support the endeavours that you have here on a daily basis,” Madigan said.
Geraldine Plunkett, an Irish actress known for her roles on Glenroe and Fair City, now serving as Dublin city’s first Age Friendly Ambassador, spoke to advocate for accessibility in public spaces, saying that “If something is age accessible, it’s accessible to everyone”.
Also speaking at the event was actress Sheila Flitton, who recently starred in The Banshees of Inisherin.
“It’s very sad but I learned quite a lot about it,” she said, speaking about her own late husband’s experience with dementia.
She went on to detail the positive effects that such a social outlet could have for someone suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s.
“You encourage them, stimulate them. You listen, and if they say they forget something, you leave and it you go to something like music.”
“I know now that tranquility is one of the most important things they could ever have and somebody, as they’re doing here, to talk to them, and understand them,” she said.
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This would definitely ensure that many small businesses would fold.
While they force up rates for business too, some up by 75%. Enda Kenny is killing Irish business but you are all to blind to see it.
A lot of lazy idiots will simply take the piss and take a load of sick in a row, knowing well the employer cant do anything about it.
I think most decent workers who don’t currently have a sick pay entitlement in work would only use it if they really needed it.
I’ve never heard such rubbish. There are no advantages in this to be had by an employee. In fact all this legislation does is give an employer another reason to lower wages even more. It also encourages infighting between healthy and sick employees.
I’d definitely be leaving at least one person go when this comes in. Government just don’t get it do they?….small businesses are on the cross at the moment and are treading water at best. This must be one of the most anti business measures they’ve brought it.
Well we do know the Government are dumb enough to be thinking about it…
Lets see how many jobs they create after this comes in….its serious enough to make a multi national company choose another location over Ireland
Hair brained scheme. Reckless carry on from our Government. SME’s would implode.
Corrupt, sleazy, reckless private sector mismanagement in the economy threatens 100% of us all
I think you mean public sector…
Kingstown the private sector create the wealth like it or not & if we ever get out of this we will have the private sector to thank for it.
The private sector does don’t create wealth the consumer does
So would that mean no more P.A.Y.E contribution? Nah dont think so!
I love these soundbites everyday coming up to the budget…..
Sad times for the PAYE employee.
What about the employer who can’t even get benefit if the company closes??
This nonsense is the law in France and cripples small businesses and as a result small businesses avoid hiring anybody other than family. A little restaurant I used to go to had 3 waitresses employed, 2 were “on the sick”. When the third did the same, the man’s wife became the waitress. They won’t employ anyone else in a long time.
This is an excellent idea. It is right wing crap to suggest workers would deliberately go sick. There will always be a tiny number but the overwhelming majority would never do such a thing. I am a public servant with decent sick pay provision and have not taken any sick days this year (as I haven’t been sick!). The private sector will see similar stories to me and my colleagues. It is anti-worker drivel to suggest otherwise. If people take the piss, deal with them through the disciplinary procedures
I’m guessing you do not have employees? Trust me, the piss gets taken.
Ridiculous law and more smoke and mirror games by the shambles of a government.
Its all part of the FG plan, divide and conquer. And people wonder why there are no protests? We are all arguing over this crap while the country is destroyed further.
a strategy known as it’s “the roman circus”
Right wing crap ? Really , and are you aware of the appalling track record of some of the public sector levels of sick …for example the health system as highlighted in the following article recently to illustrate
..”Staff in the ‘other patient and client care’ category had some of the highest absenteeism rates across the hospital system, reaching 15.63 per cent in Drogheda. Nursing absenteeism rates meanwhile varied from 0.4 per cent in St James’s Hospital to 11.17 per cent in Lourdes Orthopaedic.
The place for the government to start tackling real abuse in the sick system is its own front door as the public service employer , by hurting RTE really small business with 2 or 3 people which this does is crazy timing as they are struggling far more in a recession
Not RTE…..should read The really small business
As an employer take my word for it, this proposal will cost jobs and increase demand on social welfare. Nothing will be saved by dept of social protection as in the case of my business the cost of sick pay will have to be made up for in reduction in overall pay bill by reduction in numbers or more part-time working.
BTW, this is regardless of whether the cases are genuine or people “take the piss”
This government are brain dead if they don’t realise how many small businesses will have to close if they persist with this lunacy .
This must mean that 42% of Business were always unviable and were merely existing because of the PAYE sector
have your say