Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Dec 1995

Vol. 459 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Attacks on the Elderly.

Mr. O'Donoghue

I do not have to remind the House of the two vicious attacks on the elderly in Galway on Sunday night last, 10 December. It is important, however, to put on the record that the two men were savagely attacked in their homes and were found only yesterday afternoon, after a terrifying ordeal. It is known that masked raiders terrorised the two elderly men. They were both beaten and the raiders threatened to set them on fire. The men were tied up and left abandoned in their homes for over 16 hours before they were discovered and taken to hospital. Gardaí in Galway believe the two crimes were linked.

The local community, with citizens the length and breadth of the country, are rightly stunned and frightened by the extent and ferocity of these vicious attacks on two extremely defenceless citizens. Attacks on the elderly shock us all but these were shameful in their ferocity. Everyone in the House will agree that attacks such as this are not only intolerable but unacceptable. We — and more particularly, the Government and the Minister for Justice — must not let such attacks become the norm. They are getting more prevalent and must be stopped. The cold, damp and darkness of winter time is bad enough for our elderly friends and neighbours but to add the fear and apprehension of attack is intolerable.

I have spoken about the escalating crime problem time and again in this House, I have continued to put forward measures, which have fallen on deaf ears, to address the problem. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to our elderly citizens and they continue to play an important role in society. Fianna Fáil has — on many fronts and over many years — a long and proud tradition of care for the elderly. It is and must be the duty of every Member to put measures in place which enhance, protect and safeguard our elderly citizens. The message must go out very clearly to those who perpetrate those crimes that they will go to prison and stay there until they have paid their debt to society; they must be made an example of to others who might be of like mind. The major problem seems to be the availability of prison spaces. Until such time as sufficient prison spaces are avilable, hardened criminals will perpetrate these crimes and will not serve the sentences which they should. This encourages others of like mind who might feel that they too will get away with a soft punishment.

It is clear that the neighbourhood watch scheme and community policing need to be enhanced. The Minister for Finance should ensure in February 1996 that the elderly are given a subvention for burglar alarm systems in their homes, akin to the medical alert system. Purchasing these systems does not require a great deal of money but the elderly find it difficult to so do on meagre pensions. The time has come for the elderly to be subvented in order to protect them in their homes. If an elderly person is living alone, or with other elderly people, they should be given a subvention by the Government to provide a sufficient alarm system in their homes to protect them in times of emergency and difficulty, as occurred in the tragic cases in Galway on Sunday night.

Mr. Noonan

(Limerick East): I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Justice. I take this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible manner the attack which took place over the weekend in Loughrea. It is a matter of concern to all right minded people that senior citizens can be subjected to such cowardly attacks. I have no doubt that the Garda will do everything within their power to bring those responsible to justice.

The problem of attacks on elderly people is not a new one. As many Deputies will remember, such attacks first came to public prominence in the winter of 1984. At that time, there was a series of attacks against elderly people living in isolated rural areas. However, following determined action on the part of the Garda there was a significant and sustained reduction in the incidence of such attacks. Whereas in 1984 there were 432 attacks in cases where the injured party was aged 65 years or more and living in a remote area, this had declined to 177 by the following year. In 1993, the last year for which I have a figure, 80 such attacks were recorded by the Garda. This is not to imply that we have any reason for complacency. On the contrary, as the attacks in Loughrea demonstrate, one such attack is one attack too many.

For this reason, the Garda continue to take all possible steps to minimise such attacks. Among the measures taken by the Garda are: patrolling of areas deemed to be at special risk and the operation of checkpoints and carrying out spot checks on suspect cars. Also, they are visiting elderly people who might be at risk regularly to reassure them of Garda support and also advising them of ways of improving their personal safety and the security of their homes. A list of such persons is maintained at local Garda stations for this purpose.

Another measure is working closely with voluntary agencies involved with the elderly. For example, the Garda work closely with Muintir na Tíre in the community alert scheme which plays a vital role in the prevention of attacks against the elderly. In this regard, there are 45 such schemes, covering 9,718 households, in the Galway East/ Roscommon Garda Division and 23 schemes, covering 6,236 households, in the Galway West Division. In addition, the community policing scheme for rural areas, which was put into place in 100 rural stations in September, 1991, has enabled the Garda to spend more time on operational duties, including visits to the elderly.

For her part, the Minister for Justice takes this problem very seriously indeed. Recently, she met with the National Federation of Pensioners Association and heard from them at first hand about their concerns. She has also met with Muintir na Tíre and initiated a review of the community alert scheme.

I assure the House that protection of the elderly is a priority and will continue to be so. The achievements of the Garda in dealing with this type of crime are proof of this. I know Members will join me in expressing the hope that those responsible for the attacks in Loughrea are apprehended as soon as possible. I apologise to Deputy O'Donoghue for the absence of the Minister for Justice who is unavoidably detained.