Parkinson’s Ireland Election Campaign

As the demand for our services continues to grow and with the number of people being diagnosed with Parkinson’s also increasing, this election is of vital importance to people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones.

Parkinson’s Ireland (PI) recently put together our Election Campaign, including information on Parkinson’s Disease, what we do, our services and our funding.

On average, the other major neurological charities receive over 50% of their overall income from the government. Parkinson’s Ireland received less than 10% of total income from the government in 2023.

We are calling for this disparity to be ended and calling on the government to provide sustainable funding to PI.

As Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition and demand for services is increasing, it is critical that this is addressed urgently.

Our five asks are:

In the coming weeks, we will expand this campaign and ask that our members support these asks.

1. An increase in government funding for our services including our nurses, and funding for other allied health professional service such as physiotherapy, speech therapy and dietitians.
2. The full rollout of the Community Neurorehabilitation Teams in all regions by the end of 2025.
3. Funding for Parkinson’s Ireland to set up a counselling service.
4. Funding for additional PD nurse and Consultant Neurologist posts have been announced in recent budgets. Most of these posts have yet to be filled. We ask that these posts are filled as soon as possible.
5. Investment into research on the links between exposure to pesticides and PD. In addition, investment should be made into education around safety measures which should be taken when using pesticides, such as the wearing of masks and gloves.

You can access our full election document here: Parkinson’s Ireland Election Document

General Election Card

We also have a general election card for our members to hand to candidates when a canvassing for your vote.

You can download it here: Parkinson’s Ireland Election Card

Letter to Candidates

Addressing candidates directly is a good way to have your voice heard.

We have put together a letter that you can use to address to your local candidates, which includes our five asks and information on Parkinson’s Ireland.

Five of these will be included in your winter magazine, which was sent to our members this month.

You can also print these off by clicking here.

We will also be providing a list of declared candidates once they are available. 

How to Vote

You can find all the information you need on how to vote on Citizen’s Advice 

Inclusion Ireland have put together an easy to read guide to voting for disabled people, which you can access by clicking here.

Be sure to know where your polling station is before the day and encourage your friends and family to use their vote too. Polling stations are open between 7am to 10pm, giving you plenty of time to plan your day.

You can also check if you are registered to vote and if your details are correct by visiting www.checktheregister.ie

Who is running in my constituency?

There are almost 700 candidates running for election and it can be hard to know where to start when researching the candidates in your constituency.

Over the past few months, The Journal have been compiling a candidate database for the general election and it is now live.

This database contains pictures, biographies and social media profiles of almost 700 candidates from the 43 constituencies around the country. The candidates can be searched by constituency or through their party page. 
Please click here to access the database to find out who is in your constituency.