Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 61 and 63 together. My Department is responsible for the seniors alert scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the scheme for the purchase by a registered community-based organisation of a personal alarm or pendant. Since I launched the new scheme in November 2017, demand has been very good. During 2018, over 19,200 applications were approved, with total expenditure of almost €7 million. The scheme’s allocation for 2019 is €2.3 million. As this is a demand-led scheme, it will be kept under constant review by my Department to ensure that adequate funding can be made available to meet the requirements of all qualifying applicants. There is provision under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2018, which also covers 2019, for funding to meet any additional demands on the scheme this year. Under the seniors alert scheme, applicants receive a free personal alarm, worn as a pendant or around the wrist. When pressed, it connects wirelessly to a base unit which is usually connected to a landline. If the applicant does not have a landline, the monitoring company can supply a SIM card for use in the base unit. There is a charge for this, usually about €5 per month. This equates to the telephone line rental that a user of the service with a landline would have to pay.

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