Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I represent a rural constituency where many people live in isolated areas and this scheme allowed them to have the peace of mind and feeling of security brought about by having a monitored alarm system. Their relatives were also reassured by the scheme. I do not understand, therefore, why the scheme is being suspended. I hope the Minister will be true to his word when he says it will be reinstated in September.

This signifies a further erosion of services, particularly for older people. Tonight we debated the loss of the Christmas bonus for pensioners and we all remember the fiasco of the medical cards for the over 70s. Now many older people who live independently in isolated areas no longer feel safe as a result of the loss of this scheme.

It also gives a certain degree of comfort to people who might embark on robberies in rural areas. People are now storing money at home and older people have always had a tendency to do so. The reduction in home help hours means there are fewer callers to people in rural areas, so the lack of monitored alarms will have an effect. In the Fermoy area of my constituency of Cork East, 51 monitored alarms were distributed since January. A further 28 older people were on the waiting list. They will now have to pay approximately €300 from their pension to get an alarm.

According to Irish Rural Link, Muintir na Tire and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the scheme costs approximately €3 million but €2.4 million of that is recouped through VAT paid to the Exchequer. It is a worthwhile scheme and I ask the Minister to reinstate it.

Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased I submitted my Adjournment matter to the Ceann Comhairle in sufficient time and I thank him for accepting it tonight.

I have an idea of what is happening on this matter, not from the Minister but I added two and two - it made 22, not four - when I became aware of various things that were taking place. I hope the Minister will review this issue and that when he decides to reinstate the scheme, which I hope he will, he will have taken account of the great deal of information which will have been given to him to demonstrate that there are many better ways of implementing the scheme. In my opinion, the scheme should always be in the hands of voluntary groups such as Muintir na Tire or Irish Rural Link, which is based in Moate, or Helplink South, a wonderful voluntary organisation supplying huge numbers of people with monitors through its very dedicated staff.

I am aware that details have emerged which are not helpful for the people who most need these aids. As Deputy Sherlock said, it is a wonderful scheme. While I live in the town of Athlone much of my constituency is rural. When I visit the house of a person who lives alone I always notice when they are wearing the chain and disc around their neck. Thankfully, the person will be able to ring somebody if they require help. The professional way in which the alarms are monitored and responded to is amazing. It gives great ease and comfort to older people. Undoubtedly, it is a very good scheme. I am sure the Minister, in his thorough and calm way, has decided in the review to put a stop to what is not right in the scheme and to encourage the correct way of doing things.

All schemes when they are started have a good basis for getting off the ground. Everybody is delighted and encouraging but as time passes various matters impinge upon the scheme, which is not good for the scheme's recipients. I wish the Minister good luck in the review, but I hope he will tell us that the scheme will be restarted in a proper, monitored and structured way.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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There is widespread anger at the decision to suspend funding for the scheme of community support for older people. This scheme has been used successfully to provide enhanced security and peace of mind for older people in their homes. It is especially important for older people living alone in rural Ireland but it is by no means confined to rural areas.

Like many Deputies I have received representations from within my constituency and outside it. As one correspondent states, the decision will "impact greatly on the lives of older and vulnerable people". Attacks on older people in their homes, ranging from intrusion to assault, not only cause terror to the victims but spread fear across the older population throughout the country. Even a break-in where nothing is taken and where the older person does not encounter the intruder, is extremely traumatic. The older person's feeling of security in his or her own home has been shattered, in many cases never to be restored again.

This scheme provided practical support with the installation of security alarms, door and window locks, security lighting and smoke alarms. Community alert groups carried out much of this work, with a network that reached across the State. Of course, no devices fitted in a home can substitute for neighbours, friends and care workers regularly calling and ensuring that the older person has the social support he or she needs. However, with this cut the Government appears to be saying that the security of older people is not a priority given that the cut will produce very paltry so-called savings.

This cut cannot be seen in isolation. It comes on top of the cut in home help hours and the totally inadequate provision of health and personal social services to older people in the community. The Government claims to be encouraging older people to remain in their homes, as most of them earnestly wish to do, but it is cutting the essential supports to enable them to do so. Sadly, many more will be driven into institutional care at far greater cost to the State. I join my colleagues in making a cross-party appeal to the Minister to restore this scheme at the earliest opportunity.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I am particularly pleased, personally, to have the opportunity to address this debate this evening. I had responsibility for this matter before today and I am pleased to have responsibility for it again.

Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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We neglected to say we are happy the Minister has been reappointed.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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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.