The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has launched a dementia services information and development centre based at St James's Hospital, Dublin.
Speaking at the launch in the Royal College of Physicians, the centre's director, Dr Suzanne Cahill, said she hoped to encourage best practice in the field of dementia.
Dementia is a complex condition which affects 30,000 Irish people.
The centre is currently engaged in research with the Alzheimer's Society on the benefits of manipulating the dementia patient's environment.
