I raise with the Tánaiste the future care of 12 older people with dementia living in the Rosalie home in Castlerea, County Roscommon. The Rosalie home is a continuing care facility for the psychiatry of later life patients. While the Health Service Executive, HSE, was still in denial last Friday, the families involved had to hear about the definite decision to close the home on local radio on Monday morning of this week when the HSE's chief officer for the west, Tony Canavan, made clear in no uncertain terms that the home will be closed. That is despite commitments made by the HSE to be open and to communicate fully with families, something it has consistently failed to do.

This upheaval is not new for the residents of the Rosalie home and their loved ones. In 2015, the future of the home was also uncertain. That was until the Minister of State with responsibility at the time, the former Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, made three commitments to the families, namely, that those in the home could see out the rest of their days in the home, that the home would form part of the HSE plans for dementia care in the region, and that the families would be kept informed at all times. It now appears those commitments either mean nothing or that the Minister of State and the HSE have shredded them. The HSE and the Tánaiste's Government have made the decision to close the home. That was announced without any consultation or clarity for families as to the future care needs of their loved ones.

We all know that this is their home. It is where they are happy and content. It is where they are cared for and looked after and it is where they are comfortable and familiar with their surroundings and with the staff who care for them, yet none of this appears to matter to the HSE and, with respect, to the Tánaiste's Government. The families, once again, are being left waiting.

Will the Tánaiste give clarity to the families as to what will happen to their loved ones? Will he explain the reason the Rosalie home is being closed and the reason this decision has been made before the external review of the clinical assessment is complete?

The Deputy might appreciate that I may not be able to give him full information on the particular case he raises. I recall, however, that on the Order of Business on Tuesday, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, responded to similar concerns expressed by some Fianna Fáil colleagues.

My understanding of this case is that it is a decision to be made by the HSE but that the audits that have taken place in advance of decisions being made had to focus on patient safety, patient care and ensuring the HSE can stand over that for the individuals and the families concerned. However, there should be consultation with families. If the conditions under which elderly people are being cared for is to change dramatically in terms of location, the consultation on a decision like that should require detailed consultation with families and reassurance for families that decisions are being made for their loved ones for the right reasons. I will speak to the Minister of State concerned and try to get him to come back to the Deputy with a more detailed assessment from the HSE in terms of what has happened to date.

Dementia supports across Ireland remain totally inadequate. The position in Roscommon is an example of that, but one that requires urgent address. We are looking at a difficulty that is acknowledged by the national dementia strategy's mid-term review, which states that additional funding is required. Currently, access to community dementia-specific services across Ireland is not equal. The level of service varies depending on where one lives but I stress that currently no county in Ireland has an acceptable level of dementia support.

Budget 2019 must deliver increased supports across Ireland for persons suffering with dementia. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is calling for investment in budget 2019 to deliver increased numbers of dementia advisers, key workers and community co-ordinators. We in Sinn Féin support that call and ask the Government to step up to the mark and deliver for dementia sufferers and their families who have been waiting far too long. Crisis in elder care settings of the nature I have outlined to the Tánaiste will continue unless we invest in supportive services. In urging the Tánaiste to address these matters in budget 2019, I ask him to remake and stand over the Kathleen Lynch commitments of three years ago to the residents of Rosalie home.

My understanding is that the HSE did meet the families concerned but I will need to speak to the Minister of State about whether that consultation was extensive enough.

They met them last Friday but did not tell them it would be announced as a closure on Monday.

No. My understanding is that there was a meeting about it many months ago, but I will come back to the Deputy with the dates and the detail of those meetings.

Regarding dementia care more generally, the national dementia strategy implementation programme agreed by the Department of Health, the HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies committed €27.5 million for a number of specific actions. The majority of that funding was for the roll-out of dementia-specific intensive home care packages. A total of 316 people have benefited from the dementia-specific intensive home care packages to allow them continue living in their homes.

On the Deputy's questions about the upcoming budget and the prioritisation of this sector, that is an issue he will have an opportunity to contribute to in the wider budget debate. I acknowledge there are gaps in dementia supports in different parts of the country, but when the HSE makes decisions on individual care homes, it is doing so in the interests of the patients and their care. That should be the only consideration when moving people from one facility to another.