ALONE BRINGS VOICES OF STRUGGLING OLDER PEOPLE TO JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE

ALONE address the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development on its pre-budget submission and survey findings, which show that older people can’t wait

ALONE, the organisation that enables older people to age at home, will today present its pre-budget submission, and the findings of its most recent survey of older people, to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development.

The hearing, which comes at the invitation of the committee itself, will highlight the areas of profound need identified in ALONE’s comprehensive survey of the older people it supports.

ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said: “We’re very grateful for the opportunity to address the committee on behalf of the over 43,000 older people we support each year. The message we’re bringing to the committee is that older people can’t wait; the stark fact is that, without cost of living supports, 45.6% of older people would have been at risk of poverty last year.”

“We know those once-off cost of living measures aren’t going to be repeated in this budget, but we also know that many older people are struggling with high prices, persistent inflation and energy and fuel poverty. We know that the older people who are most reliant on ALONE’s support tend to live alone, to have limited incomes, housing challenges and complex health needs. Some of the responses to our survey make for harrowing reading, and show older people in serious distress – those are the voices we’re seeking to represent at the Committee”.

One respondent to the ALONE survey said:

“You feel under pressure at all times, due to the financial stress that comes from the increased cost of living and this feeling gets worse as you head towards the winter months.”

Another highlighted the gap between the cost of living and older people’s incomes:

“It’s a worry to hear essential things may go up again, groceries, electricity, gas, but pension not going up.”

Another respondent noted the fear and anxieties that arise for older people in the winter months:

“I’m terrified my oil won’t last; I stopped eating meat. I cut down on fruit and I go to bed early because the house is very cold. I get very depressed”

Key pre-budget asks to be presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee will include:

• An increase the State Pension by at least €22 in 2026, to be benchmarked by 2027, to bringing Ireland into line with international best practice. (Cost: €877.8m)
• Increase the Fuel Allowance by at least €20 to maintain support levels previously provided by cost-of-living payments. (Cost: €233m)
• Increase the Living Alone Allowance by at least €10. (Cost: €130.8m)
• Increase the Telephone Support Allowance by at least €7.50 and expand to include broadband/internet costs. (Cost: €64.7m)
• Simplify the application processes for social protection entitlements to improve accessibility

[*Costings developed by ALONE and Social Justice Ireland.]

While ALONE’s pre-budget submission also included a range of other measures – notably, a proposal for a Commissioner for Older People to co-ordinate efforts and implementation across government departments – these key, costed asks are aimed at keeping older people healthy, independent and out of poverty in a challenging economic environment.

Moynihan said: “As we’ve seen with the recent nursing home scandal – an issue we’ve been campaigning on for decades – there’s a lot wrong structurally with how we support older people in this country. That’s only going to become more urgent as the population over the age of 65 passes the one million mark in the next decade. That’s why our pre-budget submission features major proposals around housing and healthcare, such as the Housing with Support model we’ve successfully trialled in Dublin”.

Moynihan concluded: “1 in 3 people we asses cite financial difficulties, ranging from utility bills, food bills to housing expenses. What we’re presenting to the committee today is a set of highly targeted, evidence-based proposals that will be hugely life-enhancing – if not life-saving – for many older people in Ireland. For some, these measures would ease the pressures of the cost of living and keep them safe and secure in their own homes. For others, it would mean not having to make impossible and dangerous choices between heating and eating. We’re grateful to have the chance to represent those people today”.

NOTE TO THE EDITOR

The full pre-budget submission is available at: https://alone.ie/library/alone-pre-budget-submission/

ALONE is a national organisation that enables older people to age at home. Our work is for all older people and aims to improve physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. We have a national network of staff and volunteers who provide an integrated system of Support Coordination, Practical Supports, Support & Befriending, a variety of Phone Services, Social Prescribing, Housing with Support and Assistive Technology.

We use individualised support plans, to address health, financial benefits and supports, social care, housing, transport and other arising needs using technology and through harnessing other services.  We work to empower the whole sector of community support for older people through our Community Impact Network that provides Training, IT support and resources to other organisations.