Ireland recently held a General Election where the country voted to elect its next government. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI)election campaign “Deliver on Dementia – Time to End the Crisis” aimed to ensure that dementia is included in the new Programme for Government, so people with dementia and their families can get the support that they need.
Over 500 candidates were asked to pledge to “Deliver on Dementia” in the next Programme for Government, to ensure:
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The National Dementia Strategy is fully implemented
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Home care for everybody
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Dementia is in the Chronic Disease Management Programme.
ASI used its extensive grassroots network to distribute 3,000 voter prompt cards to staff, clients, families, volunteers and advocates across the organisation. Voters were asked to use these prompt cards when they met an election candidate, to help explain the challenges of dementia. The campaign aimed to get as many people as possible to highlight the crisis in dementia care.
ASI also issued 27 press releases, incorporating national and local statistics and details of candidates in every constituency, to every press and media outlet in the country.
Through social media, ASI highlighted real-life case studies of families in crisis and used its network of volunteer advocates to develop video soundbites. In total, over 5,000 e-mails were sent to candidates. With the engagement of ASI’s grassroots network, over 190 candidates pledged their support, and of those, 91 were elected. This means that almost 60% of the new TDs (government ministers) in the Dáil have pledged to “Deliver on Dementia”. Dementia was specifically highlighted in six of the seven political parties’ Manifestos. The full impact of the ASI campaign will probably only become clear once the new government is formed and operational, but ASI is proud of the results of the campaign and is determined to ensure the crisis in dementia care is addressed.
