Vol. 490 No. 2
233 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will consider refunding pensioners for the annual charge in respect of alarms fitted to homes of old age pensioners under the grants scheme operated by his Department. [10012/98]
The scheme of community support for older people was established to address the security needs of vulnerable older people in the community by providing once-off funding for certain types of security equipment.
Under the scheme once-off grants can be made towards the cost of:
— small-scale physical security equipment such as strengthening of doors and windows, window locks, door chains and locks and security equipment; and
— socially-monitored alarm systems. Funding is not available under the scheme for conventional intruder-burglar alarms.
The maximum grant available under this scheme is 90 per cent of the cost and grants are provided only towards the once-off cost of obtaining and installing the necessary equipment.
Under the terms of the scheme, as initiated in 1996, it was not possible to provide funding towards the annual monitoring fees charged by the monitoring companies. Any change in the scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
