Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Age Action is a wonderful organisation. In response to the Covid crisis, it developed a hardship fund for older people throughout the country who are finding it impossible to make ends meet. Some 21,000 older people applied to the fund, but there was only enough money for 1,000 grants. It is interesting that Fine Gael Deputies and councillors throughout the country tweeted about the fund or posted about it on Facebook. Some took out adverts in their local paper and put the fund next to their photograph. However, it is not a State-backed fund, which is why it ran out of money so quickly. The number of applications to the fund underlines that there is no flexibility in the pockets of those on the State pension. Many of them have been driven into hardship by the Covid crisis. There is a mismatch between the resources that have been allocated and the need that exists among older people. I ask the Tánaiste to step in and ensure the Government contributes to the fund to make certain that the 21,000 older people who applied to it will receive money to help them through the current situation.

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