O'Shea, Eamon2011-12-082011-12-082007-02http://hdl.handle.net/10147/196455Dementia is a relatively new area of policy focus, despite the expanding number of people worldwide affected by different dementia disorders. Few countries have specific health and social care policies for the condition and where there is a policy it is mostly encompassed in wider generic policies and statements on ageing. In addition, discussions of public policy issues in respect of dementia are relatively rare in the research literature (OECD, 2004). Similarly, the health economics of dementia is in its infancy. This too is surprising, given that dementia is one of the most devastating and costly group of diseases and its impact on the care systems of all countries will increase in the future due to population ageing. This paper makes the case for a significant public investment in dementia care as part of a new strategy of making dementia a national health priority.enDEMENTIAHEALTH POLICYImplementing policy for dementia care in Ireland: the time for action is nowReport