Helen Rochford Brennan (Chair Dementia Working Group), Sabina Brennan (Seanad Candidate) and Una Geary (Trinity Graduate)

I stood outside the Dáil today to highlight the fact that only 30% of the registered electorate voted in the 2011 Seanad election.

If the same proportions vote in the 2016 election that will mean that 40,700 votes will be wasted.

Voting in the Seanad Election is a privilege afforded to Trinity graduates. Many older adults, people living with dementia, people with intellectual disabilities and carers didn’t have an opportunity to go to university and therefore don’t have a vote. However, these people need to have their voices heard in the Oireachtas.

If you are one of that 40,700 please consider giving me your number 1 vote, I will ensure that their voices are heard. I am disgusted and ashamed of how we, in Ireland, treat older people and those with neurological conditions including dementia. I will promote their rights and work closely with them to articulate their needs. My own personal experience walking the dementia journey with my mum has compelled me to run for the Seanad in order to influence policy and practice.”

The actions, that I am campaigning for, are both practical and realistic and will impact positively on all of our futures to bring social, health and economic benefits for us all.

Update on voting from Trinity Academic Registry Office

According to the Academic Registry office as of today, 6th April 2016, they have received by return post: 9480 undelivered ballots. 6652 completed ballots.

In the coming days they will be reissuing all returned ballots for which they have received a) an updated address or b) a request to reissue to the same address

They will be able to accept address updates or requests to resend a returned ballot to the same address until 18th of April.

Electors wishing to track delivery status of their ballot can contact DU Seanad Support directly to obtain this, which they can use on An Post’s website here:https://track.anpost.ie/ or when speaking to An Post customer service.

Address updates should be submitted via this online form.

‘Acute hospital beds are being occupied by people waiting for neurorehabilitation ‘: Trinity Brain Health Expert.

Trinity College academic Sabina Brennan today (Tuesday 15th March) highlighted the patchy, under-resourced neurorehabilitation facilities and services in Ireland. As it is Brain Awareness Week, and because of the recent debate about concussion, and its effects, Sabina believes that it is hard not to call the availability, or the lack of, neurorehabilitation services in Ireland an outright scandal.

Sabina said: “The Enda Kenny-led Government published a National Strategy on Neurorehabilitation in 2011 and shamefully nothing has been implemented.”

She went on to say: “Most people take for granted that services will be available after diagnosis/onset of a neurological condition like stroke, acquired brain injury or MS but that is not the case at all. There is one specialist national centre in Dun Laoghaire, with waiting lists of over six months for a bed, so many families are forced to travel abroad and then lose vital gains when they return home because there are no follow-up services.

She continued: “It is outrageous that there are very few, if any, specialist neurorehabilitation facilities outside Dublin and if those in need of rehabilitation cannot get into the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, they remain in their hospital bed. Therefore they are occupying acute hospital beds which is making the problem of trolleys and delayed discharge worse.”

Following the issue of this press release NewsTalk included an interview with Sabina Brennan in News Bulletins  on  Saturday 19th March 2016.

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