Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for his very important question and ongoing commitment to this particular area. When we were in the Seanad together, he raised this on many occasions. As he knows, our Department is responsible for the seniors alert scheme, which encourages community support for older people 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 the scheme was launched in 2015, 156,488 participants have been approved for the alarms, including over 15,000 this year, and since 2015, 4,819 people from Kildare have availed of the scheme.

My Department is reviewing all aspects of the seniors alert scheme, including the technology and services available, and I hope to launch a new iteration of the scheme in 2026. Any new iteration of the scheme will take into account the learnings from recent weather events - we heard this morning about Storm Éowyn being the most googled term this year - and will also have regard to modern technological advancements to ensure the most reliable, robust devices available are procured.

The budget for 2025 is €3.2 million and this allocation has been maintained for next year, with additional funding allocated as necessary from the Dormant Accounts Fund. As the Deputy knows, the seniors alert scheme is a demand-led scheme and to date everybody who has applied to the scheme and meets the eligibility criteria has been approved. We and our officials in the Department will continue to monitor funding to ensure all eligible applicants can avail of the scheme.

See this speech in context