As part of the World Brain Day themes of #ONEWORDFORCOVID and #SAVEMYCHARITY, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland has made a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on COVID-19 to outline the issues that are facing both those living with a neurological conditions and the charities that support them.
There has been a huge impact on organisations ability to fundraise due to the ongoing pandemic and in Epilepsy Ireland's case, we are projecting that our fundraising income will fall by 50% due to the ongoing pandemic (circa €400k).
Meanwhile, the people we support are reporting difficulties in accessing services as seen in the recent NAI survey.
The NAI submission calls on the new Government to undertake three immediate actions in order to ensure that people with neurological conditions are supported during this time:
1) Provision of a Crisis Fund for Disability Service Providers and Secure Statutory Funding 2020/2021
2) Investment in Neurology Services to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of high-quality equitable care for neurology patients
3) Implementation of the Three-Year Framework for the National Neurorehabilitation Strategy
As a member of the NAI, we support the submission made to the Committee and look forward to swift action on the matters identified.
You can read the NAI's full submission by downloading the report on the NAI website.