Vol. 472 No. 5
77 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to install, free of charge, phonewatch into the homes of elderly people, particularly those living alone in remote rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23572/96]
Subsequent to the recommendation made by the Special Task Force on Security for the Elderly for a £2 million grant scheme, I established a national advisory committee, on which the National Council for the Elderly, the Irish Association of Victim Support, the Reach Out Campaign, Muintir na Tíre, the Irish Country Women's Association and the Garda Síochána (Neighbourhood Watch) are represented, to advise on a suitable scheme that would ensure that the available funds are targeted on the most vulnerable older people and the best possible value for money is achieved.
On the basis of the advice of this advisory committee and taking into account the amount of money available and the cost of security equipment, I decided that funding could be provided for:
—small-scale physical security equipment such as strengthening of doors and windows, window locks, door chains and locks and security lighting; and
—socially monitored alarm systems.
It was not intended that the scheme would provide funding towards the cost of conventional burglar alram systems, such as phonewatch, and I have no plans to extend the scheme to cover such equipment. The strong advice available to me from the advisory committee and the Garda Síochána is that conventional burglar alarms are of limited use to vulnerable elderly people living alone.
