Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the grants available to groups involved with the care of older persons to provide social activities for the older population here; his views on such grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33502/08]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has a mandate in relation to communities, be they urban, rural, Gaeltacht or island communities. Many of our programmes and schemes focus on communities, particularly on those that are vulnerable, disadvantages or under threat. As well as communities that can be defined in terms of geographic location, the Department supports those that are defined on the basis of a common focus on a particular issue. While these programmes do not specifically provide grants to groups involved in the care of older persons to provide social activities, the following are some initiatives through which my Department provides support for and facilitates these groups and organisations in their activity.

Under the scheme to support national organisations, my Department provides multi-annual funding to a number of national groups towards core costs associated with the provision of services including services for older people. The following organisations were among those granted multi-annual finding for the period 2008 to 2010: Age Action Ireland Limited — €53,000 per annum; Irish Senior Citizens Parliament — €100,000 per annum; Active Retirement Ireland — €93,000 per annum; the Older Women's Network — €150,000 per annum; and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland — €106,000 per annum.

Under a joint CLÁR-HSE health measure, which I recently announced, funding is provided for various health projects, including the development, refurbishment and improvement of health centres, and the upgrading, refurbishment and equipping of day centres for older people.

Under the RAPID programme, funding is provided to support small-scale projects identified locally by the area implementation teams in each of the RAPID areas. Under the health sector co-fund, my Department and the Department of Health and Children provide funding through the Health Service Executive, to support small-scale health and community projects in RAPID areas. The 2008-09 scheme, for which funding of some €4.6 million is being provided, will focus on services and facilities for older people, namely, those over 65 years. The purpose of the scheme is to enhance and provide facilities that will enable older people to live independent lives. The health leverage scheme will assist with the implementation of projects as identified by the health sub-groups — operating under the health strategic theme — and endorsed by the RAPID area implementation team.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

While the rural social scheme, RSS, does not give direct grant aid to the types of groups referred to by the Deputy, it does provide support to a number of community groups nationally that are involved in activities such as meals on wheels, visiting the elderly and rural transport schemes. Through this work the RSS plays a significant role in providing real and tangible support to communities.

My Department also provides funding, on a pilot basis in seven areas around the country, for the evening rural transport scheme. Funding of €500,000 was pledged for this one-year pilot initiative. The scheme, administered by Pobal and operated on the ground by the Department of Transport by way of local transport providers, has proven very successful, and has been particularly welcomed by many older persons who use the service. Reports from the Department of Transport indicate that in excess of 60% of the people availing of the service are free travel pass holders, thus indicating the value of the scheme to older persons in the context of providing them with access to a wider range of social activities in their localities.

The programme of supports for local community and voluntary groups is designed to enable community facilities to be developed to enable greater use by people of all abilities. In addition to funding for the refurbishment of community centres and community owned facilities, the programme provides supports for equipping these centres and providing training to volunteers, staff and members of the communities.

My Department also implements the community support for older people scheme. This scheme does not provide for social activities directly but addresses their home security needs. The scheme covers the costs of socially monitored alarms, external security lighting and a range of household security affording the older person some degree of personal security to attend and participate in social activities.

Grants are available from the Sports Council fund for the promotion of sport and physical activities among older people.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for this reply. Obviously, this is a very important question, given the age profile of the population. Looking at the figure of €53,000 for Age Action Ireland, I am reminded that last week was Age Action Week and in my area a very active group provided all types of entertainment for the senior citizens. Ultimately, the figure of €53,000 does not equate to €2,000 per county and it is very small relative to what is needed. However, I take the point made by the Minister of State, Deputy John Curran, on volunteerism. That law has ultimately emerged and the ESB has been a significant sponsor in this regard.

The Minister talks about safety etc., but we must ensure that senior citizens in rural areas are protected. On that aspect, what is being put in place to ensure this happens? I recently tabled a question to the Minister of Transport who told me there were no waivers for the rural transport initiative. That is very narrow-minded. It is not right as it seems to defeat the original purpose of the rural transport initiative, which was to allow people to travel to the various towns and interlink with social activities in these areas so that they were not prisoners in their homes. I ask the Minister to look at that.

It is possible to increase funding to make it attractive for the many volunteers that are willing to help. However, the initiative must be driven by the Department to ensure it happens.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The money for the groups, Age Action Ireland and Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, is for the core central office. I do not believe this is an issue that can be driven in the communities around the country by putting money through a core central office. I am not against the existence of a core central office, but all that money goes to that office. We get the moneys to the communities through the various schemes we operate, for example, the rural social scheme. Much of the work done by the rural social scheme involves going into people's houses, providing transport services — many of the community buses are driven by people on the scheme. That is a very efficient way to get the services to where the people are, by going directly to the people with the service.

As the Deputy knows, the pilot evening transport service is in seven areas. Funding of €500,000 was provided for that on a one-year basis. That will have to be evaluated. The word on the ground is that it is good, but we will have to get some objective measure on how well that programme is working and we will consider that. There is, of course, the community support for older people, CSOP, scheme, which provides locks and various things for the elderly. That scheme is operated by the Department. There is also the community services programme.

Each community is much better off by having access to schemes directly and tailoring those to its particular needs than by having one central template administered by a specific body. My experience in my community with the delivery of services to older people and in other rural and urban communities I visit is that they are accessing schemes such as the community services programme, the rural social scheme etc. and making very good use of them.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister spoke about the evening rural transport scheme and said he would do an evaluation. Does he expect to roll out that scheme nationally? Deputy Wall raised the question of funding and I agree with him. I agree with the Minister on setting up agencies to distribute moneys. Small amounts of money work very well, as for example in north Mayo with the funding for the wheelchair bus. That has done a great deal for people in wheelchairs there because there is no public transport in north Mayo. That is the type of initiative that is needed rather than giving money to big agencies, which can take months to distribute it. That does not work. I ask the Minister to look at the smaller cases to ensure they get an opportunity, and keep it simple. These days, the Government makes everything difficult, but it is the simple measures that work.

Has the Minister made representation to the Minister for Health and Children, the Taoiseach and the rest of his Government colleagues to ensure that the medical card for the over 70s is retained?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is outside the scope of the question. The Minister will deal with the other parts of the question.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We are the representatives of old people.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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That is right. It appears today I am meant to be the whole Government wrapped in one, but I will let that pass. It was a good try.

The Deputy is absolutely right. He and I have long agreed that the simpler the money trail from central Government and the more flexibility there is on the ground, the better the service. In all the changes we have made in terms, for example, of the cohesion process, that is exactly what we are talking about. Let us keep the bureaucracy slim and the frontline services strong. Certainly, in all the discussions that have taken place, I have emphasised that. Take the CLÁR programme, for example, and the rural social scheme, I am trying to simplify the community services programme and make it more streamlined. I cannot understand why the rural social scheme has a much slimmer bureaucracy attached to it than the community services programme. I discussed that with the officials and have asked why, if one scheme can be administered for 2,500 people, with large overheads, the other scheme cannot be administered for an equivalent number of people. I agree with the Deputy. That is something I have certainly been working on, and I will continue to do. I know I will have his support in trying to deliver moneys in the simplest manner possible to local groups.

If we take a scheme such as the community service programme, that was not specifically set up for older people but for any service the community decided it needed, and often that is the best way to proceed. In that way, the service for older people is often provided, even though the scheme is not exclusively set up for that purpose. We often provide walkways and so on. Too often we are over-prescriptive in centralising schemes rather than allowing communities to make use of particular aspects of programmes for their members, as required.