Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to speak about something simple but powerful, namely communication and the role it plays in tackling loneliness and isolation among our older people. The telephone support allowance was introduced in 2018 to help people living alone with the cost of staying connected through a phone or home alert system. It is paid at a rate of €2.50 per week. In seven years, that has never once been increased. To put this in context, a landline can cost anywhere from €30 to €40 a month and the monitoring fee for a personal alert system can be up to €90 per year. This small allowance no longer meets a fraction of those costs. It is also a highly targeted support available only to those who live along, qualify for the fuel allowance and are already receiving payments like the state pension or disability allowance. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities who often live alone and are struggling financially.I am asking for a modest, but meaningful change, which is to increase the allowance by at least €7.50 per week, develop a benchmark so it keeps pace with real communication costs, and expand it to include broadband, renaming it the telephone and Internet support allowance. The cost estimated by ALONE is an additional €64.7 million, which is small compared with the social benefit it would deliver.

ALONE is a national organisation that enables older people to live well at home and as long as possible. It works to improve physical, emotional and mental well-being through an integrated network of staff and volunteers across the country. In Roscommon, ALONE is doing incredible work supporting older people to age at home with dignity and independence. ALONE has 141 active volunteers in Roscommon supporting over 600 older people so far this year. Each one of these people depend on being able to stay in touch, whether it is a phone call from a volunteer, check-in from a support worker or even a video call from a family member. Communication is often their lifeline. Loneliness and isolation are not small issues; they are public health challenges. We know that being cut off socially can have the same impact on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. A phone line or broadband connection may seem like a simple thing, but it is often the first and easiest way to prevent loneliness. It keeps people connected with family, friends, neighbours and services. It allows older people to pay bills, book medical appointments or simply hear a friendly voice at the other end of the line. We cannot talk about digital transformation, inclusion and connected communities and leave behind the very people who most need these connections.

I am asking for the telephone support allowance to be increased by a minimum of €7.50 per week, a benchmark to be created so it stays in line with real costs, and for it to be expanded to include broadband, renaming it the telephone and Internet support allowance. This would help more than 160,000 people by 2027. These are people living alone, people who are already struggling and people for whom communication means safety, dignity and connection. We must review the telephone support allowance. When we talk about tackling loneliness, this is one of the most effective and immediate ways to start. A phone call, an email or a video chat seem small, but they can mean the world to someone who lives alone. Let us make sure that no older person in Ireland is left disconnected.