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	Intensive home care packages and supports will come on stream next year for more people suffering from dementia, it emerged yesterday.</p>
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	The move is part of &euro;27.5m in funding - &euro;12m of which is being given by Atlantic Philanthropies - which will kick-start the first Irish National Dementia Strategy launched by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.</p>
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	The long-awaited plan is aimed at providing better diagnosis and care for people with dementia, the majority of whom suffer from Alzheimer&#39;s disease.</p>
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	Around 50,000 people have dementia but as the population ages the numbers will soar. The Taoiseach described the disease as a &quot;gradual leave-taking&quot; and a &quot;vindictive loss&quot;.</p>
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	Tanaiste Joan Burton, who also attended the launch, named famous political leaders who had the disease, such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.</p>
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	Social Care Minister Kathleen Lynch told the gathering that the three priority areas for the &euro;27.5m initial funding include the roll-out of intensive home packages. It will also cover more education of GPs, who are crucial to ensuring a patient gets an early diagnosis and are not told their symptoms are due to other conditions. Part of the funding will also go towards addressing stigma, she added.</p>
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	&quot;Older people want to stay at home and we try to enable them to do so for as long as possible.&quot;</p>
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	She said the waiting list of more than 2,000 people waiting for Fair Deal funding for a nursing home place had now been reduced to around 1,000.</p>
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	The strategy, which has yet to be subject to an implementation plan, points out that the average annual cost per person with dementia is &euro;40,500. But the bulk of this is provided free of charge by family caregivers. The value of this informal care is around &euro;807m annually.</p>
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	Although it is usually associated with people over the age of 65, it is also affecting those in their 30s, 40s and 50s.</p>
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	&quot;The diagnosis of younger onset dementia with symptoms is often confused with other disorders and disabilities, such as depression and other mental health problems,&quot; the strategy pointed out.</p>
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	&quot;People with early onset dementia usually experience greater difficulty accessing a diagnosis and fitting into existing dementia service provision, which is generally tailored to the needs of older people.&quot;</p>
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	GPs are usually the first contact when someone has problems with memory. However they may have difficulty differentiating normal ageing from signs of dementia.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/275m-dementia-care-plan-to-focus-on-home-support-30846267.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/275m-dementia-care-plan-to-focus-on-home-support-30846267.html</a></p>
