Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As all Senators are aware, next weekend is a long weekend and the clocks will go back an hour. It is very important that we look after our elderly neighbours. There are 9,500 elderly people living in County Carlow. Last week, I met Mr. Joe Butler, chairman of the Carlow Older Persons Forum. There are concerns regarding the number of young people congregating around the entrance to housing estates, especially as the evenings are getting darker. A new study on loneliness carried out as part of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, found that one in ten of those over the age of 75 reported feeling lonely much of the time. With Hallowe'en upon us, those living alone are very afraid of bangers which are set off frequently before and during Hallowe'en, causing much distress to elderly people and their animals. Many elderly people have animals for company and security. It is a worry because many of my constituents have contacted me on this issue and it is something of which we must be mindful. We must ensure that, with the evenings getting longer, we call in to our neighbours and people we know who may need a quick visit to see how they are.