John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to be back in this position.

My Department has operated the scheme of community support for older people since mid-2002, when the Department was first established. The scheme, as originally devised in 1996, was based on the simple concept of helping people active in their communities to maintain contact with older people in their neighbourhood. Grants are not paid to individuals but to community organisations working with the older person. This approach has helped over the years to ensure that broader community support for older people was stimulated and allowed volunteers and staff of community organisations to maintain contacts with the older person.

Since my Department took over the scheme, in excess of €22 million has been awarded to community and voluntary organisations. Our estimates suggest that some 60,000 older people have been direct beneficiaries, either by being supplied with a monitored alarm, sometimes referred to as the "pendant alarm" or "panic button", or one of the other security items for their homes. The Department reviewed the scheme in 2004 and made a number of innovations in response to the concerns raised at that time. The scheme was developed to allow for window locks, the installation of door locks and chains and the cost of providing for sensor exterior lighting to be covered by it. Further innovations have been introduced since then, including a grant in respect of smoke alarms. Funding is now provided for carbon monoxide detectors, where they are supplied as part of other smoke detection devices.

One of the key recommendations of the 2004 review was that a standard individual grant be paid. This grant is now fixed at €300 per installation for the monitored alarm and lower amounts for the other equipment available. This approach has helped to ensure that community groups get good value for money and that commercial suppliers are obliged to provide quality equipment at a reasonable price, given that these products vary little in their design or service.

I am happy that the current level of grant ensures that recipients of the alarm are not required to make any contribution to the cost of the supply or installation of the equipment. The only costs falling to the older person or their family members are the annual monitoring costs. I have been told that the costs of the annual monitoring charge can vary from as low as €50 per annum to a high of over €100. This is an area in which I would support greater competition. People need to shop around for the best value available.

The changes introduced in 2004 have meant that the demand for grants has grown to unsustainable levels. From 2002 to 2006, the average annual expenditure on the scheme was approximately €2.4 million. The average expenditure for 2007 and 2008 reached over €4 million, an increase of two thirds. This, Deputies will agree, is clearly a position that could not be sustained, even in better times.

I am also concerned that the changes introduced to the scheme in recent years have meant it is no longer targeting real and genuine need among older people. As a result, the scheme was suspended in early April. This was done with a view to affording my Department the opportunity to review its operation over the next few months and re-launching it later in the year with tighter terms and conditions. This was done specifically in the context of meeting the real need among older people.

Yesterday, I met with representatives of Age Action Ireland, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Muintir na Tire, Irish Rural Link and the Senior Citizen Parliament to discuss the suspension of the scheme and some concerns about how it currently operates. Arising from those discussions, I have agreed with them a process that will set the broad parameters for a review of the scheme and for the necessary consultation to be undertaken as part of it. I am hopeful that the review process can begin in May and be completed by mid-September. The bodies have agreed to participate in the review process and to work with my officials regarding concerns they have with the operation of the scheme.

I assure the Deputies that all applications received up to the suspension of the scheme will be processed and approved, as appropriate, in line with the current eligibility criteria. Funding will be made available to eligible groups in the coming weeks. Deputy Sherlock said there were delays and spoke about the concerns that would cause for older people. Traditionally, this scheme was advertised once each year and if one missed the cut-off date, one had to wait another 12 months. We changed that recently and there is now a continuous application process.

We cleared all applications on hand up to the end of December last. The allocation last year was approximately €4.3 million, so there is no big or substantial overhang. More than €1 million worth of applications have come in this year. Some have been paid and some are still pending. All of the applications that were received early this year will be dealt with. I wish to make it clear that even with the review period, we are still dealing with the issue in a much more timely and efficient manner than under the procedure that existed previously, whereby one could apply only once a year. We do not have a six or 12 months overhang as we cleared everything up to the end of December. The applications that arrived in the earlier part of this year, prior to the suspension of the scheme, will be dealt with in the normal way. We are not accepting new applications during the review period.

In addition, it is important to note that the suspension of the scheme in no way affects those who already have received a monitored alarm device. Finally, I reiterate my commitment to this scheme and the security it has offered to the many older people using the alarms. I hope to re-launch it later in the year, in September, once the review is completed.

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