I wish to share time with Deputy Penrose. I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter. The issue of personal safety is of vital importance to our elderly population, particularly in a society where the extended family is being subsumed by small nuclear family units, many of which have opted for urban lifestyles. The changing pattern in society has left many older people living alone in rural areas. Contact with their families is often limited to telephone conversations and weekly visits. As a measure to reflect this change in lifestyle, every effort should be made to ensure that the personal safety and security needs of older people living alone are catered for.
The community support scheme for older people, which was introduced by Deputy De Rossa during the last Administration, was an important contribution in addressing the security needs of elderly people. The scheme was introduced mainly in response to a spate of attacks on older people in their homes, most of which took place in rural areas. Under the scheme a grant of up to 90% was made available to cover the cost of personal safety alarms. Since the scheme was first introduced in 1996, over 30,000 older people have secured extra protection for themselves and their spouses. However, this scheme was introduced with a view to being extended and developed, and was not intended to be left on the shelf without modifications to reflect the rapid changes in society.
I am aware that until recently there was a significant backlog in applications which were put on the long finger due to inadequate funding. Furthermore, I am aware that the grant aid for the scheme was significantly reduced in some areas, falling from the original 90% funding to as little as 39%. However, the main point I wish to address is the fact that the socially monitored alarm provided under the scheme is virtually inaccessible to older people living in more isolated areas. This is because the alarm is accessed in the main through community alert schemes or community groups which are in a position to apply to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs for a grant covering 90% of the cost of the alarm. As I have already pointed out, the availability of 90% funding is now sadly an aspiration for the majority of applicants who in reality get a much reduced sum.
Older people living in isolated rural areas with no community alert scheme do not have the mechanism through which they can apply for the grant assistance for a socially monitored alarm. The only option open to them is to purchase the alarm, and I understand that the cost could be in the region of £400, a sum which is out of the reach of most elderly people. It is grossly unfair to two neighbours, one might be able to afford it while the other cannot. It is ironic that those people most isolated are those with least access to safety and security provisions.
I am calling on the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to immediately make provision to allow older people living in areas where no community alert scheme operates make an application for a grant to cover the cost of the alarm directly to his Department. Furthermore, it is necessary that resources be made available so that 90% funding is sustained at all times under the scheme. I see no reason the grant for the purpose of fitting alarms could not be increased further as many older people have great difficulty in coming up with the necessary 10%.