Seniors Alert Scheme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 November 2016

Thursday, 10 November 2016

Ceisteanna (165, 166, 167)

John Brady

Ceist:

165. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of persons benefitting from the seniors alert scheme nationally, by county, in each of the years 2014 to date in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34132/16]

John Brady

Ceist:

166. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the rationale for moving the senior alert scheme application online considering many older persons are unable to use computers and have no access to a computer; if an online system is adequate for such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34133/16]

John Brady

Ceist:

167. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of groups that administer the senior alert scheme nationally, by county, in each of the years 2014 to date in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34134/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government

I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 to 167, inclusive, together.

The objective of the Seniors Alert Scheme is to encourage support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the Scheme towards the purchase by a registered community-based organisation of equipment, i.e. a personal alarm and/or pendant, while the associated monitoring and service charges are the responsibility of the individual participant.

As part of a review of the Scheme in 2010, one of the recommendations was that a centralised procurement process would simplify the Scheme. By decreasing the level of administration for the community-based organisations, this would allow them to spend more time on the key aim of the Scheme, which is enhanced engagement with older members of the community. It would also achieve value for money through economies of scale.

My Department undertook to consider new approaches to the Seniors Alert Scheme in 2014 and, arising from this, it was decided that the Scheme should be managed by Pobal, given its significant experience delivering programmes on behalf of Government. The management and administration of the Scheme transferred from the Department to Pobal on 7 September 2015.

The community based organisations that wish to support older people with the supply of personal monitored alarms are required to register with Pobal before operating the scheme. It is important to stress that a paper-based registration process is available to facilitate those community-based organisations unable to register online.  Pobal also operates a telephone helpline facility to assist with any queries (tel. no. 01 5117222).

Once registered, the community-based organisations can then submit participant applications on behalf of elderly people living in their defined area of operation. There is no closing date for receipt of registrations.

This new approach was designed to reduce the administrative burden for the many hundreds of community and voluntary organisations registered under the Scheme, who provide an excellent service for the elderly. It also enables the organisations to concentrate on the main purpose of the Scheme, namely to support and interact with the elderly in their local communities. This will enhance the outcome for both beneficiaries and community groups alike.

Pobal are currently undertaking a general review of the Scheme. This review will identify potential improvements, including technological advances. On completion of the review, a new Scheme will be put in place. Consultation with relevant stakeholders, including local communities, service users and civic organisations, is a key component of the review, the results of which will inform my Department’s policy on the future direction of the Senior Alerts Scheme.

The data relating to the number of persons benefitting from alarms and the number of groups which administer the scheme is set out in the following tables. As a result of the transfer of administration of this scheme from my Department to Pobal in September 2015, the information contained in Table 1 relates to the period from 1 January 2014 to 6 September 2015, while the information contained in Tables 2 and 3 relates to the period from 7 September 2015 to date. It should be noted that, following the transfer of the scheme to Pobal, all community-based organisations that wished to support older people with the supply of monitored alarms were required to register with Pobal.

Table 1

County	Number of Organisations Submitting Claims	Number of Beneficiaries
-	2014	2015	2014	2015
Carlow	9	5	106	79
Cavan	22	18	114	77
Clare	15	10	206	144
Cork	71	65	931	703
Donegal	34	24	321	121
Dublin	37	36	1193	1094
Galway	35	32	645	463
Kerry	29	24	222	217
Kildare	11	10	165	105
Kilkenny	15	12	181	191
Laois	9	6	85	66
Leitrim	6	5	21	24
Limerick	27	21	251	189
Longford	4	3	72	61
Louth	7	8	163	107
Mayo	37	29	363	222
Meath	21	20	193	150
Monaghan	10	11	151	79
Offaly	6	7	202	178
Roscommon	13	9	169	90
Sligo	16	12	163	77
Tipperary	30	25	403	338
Waterford	19	15	127	109
Westmeath	10	12	277	217
Wexford	24	17	213	148
Wicklow	15	10	183	144
Total	532	446	7120	5393

*Figures for 2015 cover the period to 6 September 2015

Table 2

County	No. of Organisations approved at 31/12/15	No. of Organisations approved in 2016 (to date)	Total no. of Organisations approved at 04/11/16
Carlow	7	1	8
Cavan	14	11	25
Clare	14	5	19
Cork	42	40	82
Donegal	21	8	29
Dublin	17	9	26
Galway	26	12	38
Kerry	16	16	32
Kildare	8	7	15
Kilkenny	11	6	17
Laois	6	6	12
Leitrim	4	2	6
Limerick	20	13	33
Longford	2	1	3
Louth	5	5	10
Mayo	26	14	40
Meath	20	6	26
Monaghan	7	5	12
Offaly	6	1	7
Roscommon	5	6	11
Sligo	7	6	13
Tipperary	30	9	39
Waterford	7	10	17
Westmeath	5	2	7
Wexford	10	7	17
Wicklow	6	5	11
Total	342	213	555

Table 3

County	No. of Beneficiaries approved at 31/12/15	No. of Beneficiaries approved in 2016 (to date)	Total no. of Beneficiaries approved at 04/11/16
Carlow	18	96	114
Cavan	14	66	80
Clare	92	287	379
Cork	146	910	1056
Donegal	45	143	188
Dublin	181	984	1165
Galway	81	441	522
Kerry	14	257	271
Kildare	69	209	278
Kilkenny	87	121	208
Laois	25	205	230
Leitrim	16	82	98
Limerick	82	309	391
Longford	14	43	57
Louth	35	269	304
Mayo	65	248	313
Meath	47	171	218
Monaghan	7	80	87
Offaly	37	114	151
Roscommon	19	97	116
Sligo	24	123	147
Tipperary	99	380	479
Waterford	28	123	151
Westmeath	12	102	114
Wexford	37	130	167
Wicklow	18	124	142
Total	1312	6114	7426