Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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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.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for his extremely emotive and clear advocacy in his contribution. The telephone support allowance is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are getting both the living alone increase and the fuel allowance. The primary objective of the telephone support allowance is to support access to critical communications infrastructure for the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including older persons and those with disabilities. This critical communications infrastructure can, of course, include broadband access.

While the proposal by the Senator is to be welcomed, all proposals, including the proposal to increase the telephone support allowance by a minimum of €7.50 could only be considered while taking account of overall Government policy and budgetary considerations. This also applies in respect of any commitment to develop an appropriate benchmark for the payment. In respect of the expanding the payment to include its use for broadband charges, while another objective of the telephone support allowance is to help maintain access to personal alarms or phones for security, it can of course also be used towards the cost of broadband. It is worth noting that the payment is automatically paid with a person’s main weekly social welfare payment.

The Government is committed to supporting older persons. Given the many competing demands for the limited funding available to the Department of Social Protection, there was no increase to the telephone support payment announced in budget 2026. However, other supports were provided by the Department for older persons. These supports were increased, including an overall package of €1.15 billion. This significant package balances payment rate increases together with a targeted package of measures aimed at supporting the most vulnerable in society. A weekly €10 increase was secured in the maximum weekly rate of all primary social welfare payments from January 2026. There will be proportionate increases for qualified adults and people getting a reduced rate. Furthermore, a €5 increase in fuel allowance, from €33 to €38 per week, from January 2026 was also secured, and this will provide an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. A Christmas bonus will also be paid to over 1.47 million long-term social welfare recipients in December 2025. In order to receive the telephone support allowance, a customer must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and also in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. This means that those in receipt of the allowance already receive considerable support from the Department of Social Protection.

The living alone increase is paid at a rate of €22 a week - a yearly total of €1,144 - in recognition of the greater challenges facing those living alone in avoiding poverty. Since 2019, the living alone increase has more than doubled in value from €9 to €22. The rate of fuel allowance payable has also increased significantly in recent years and, from January 2026, will provide support of €1,064 to a household during the fuel season. Increasing the rate of household-based schemes such as the living alone increase and the fuel allowance provides targeted support to households that are at a higher risk of poverty, as evidenced by recent ESRI research. Those in receipt of the telephone support allowance also have access to the household benefits package, which comprises of an electricity or gas allowance and the free television licence. This provides a further €580 a year to this cohort. Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection provides for additional needs payments as part of a supplementary welfare allowance scheme to help people meet essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. These payments are available through community welfare officers.

While I fundamentally believe that the Senator's suggestion is merited, it is important to look at it in the context of the overall package that was delivered for people in receipt, notwithstanding the vital need to ensure that communication is at the heart of addressing isolation, particularly in rural areas such as Roscommon.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State very much. I fully welcome all of the additional supports that were put in place following the budget. I am looking forward to 2026. As part of the programme for Government, there was a review put in to review the fuel allowance, the household benefits package and the living alone allowance, and they were all welcome. However, I would not be doing my job if I did not try to fight for every penny to support this demographic and for every opportunity to give them that extra bit of financial support and financial independence. These people get up in the morning and make decisions whether they will use one service or another or whether they will eat twice a day, because they are living on the margins. The isolation and mental health impact costs the State significantly more than what we are talking about in investment here.

I know it is not possible to produce this sort of money overnight. We are looking at the next budget cycle and I will speak to the Minister about this, but I would not be doing my job if I did not stand up for this particular demographic and for the 9,117 ALONE volunteers who, in 2024, delivered 264,000 voluntary hours to this particular sector, something that ALONE has estimated is valued at €7.81 million in voluntary hours support. It is about providing a lifeline, keeping in touch and keeping connected. By doing so, it is enabling these people to have independent living, which we are all here to support and support them in doing.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Senator that we need to ensure that older people are not left behind in an increasingly digital world. In this regard, I commit that the Government will not be found wanting. The Senator rightly cites and commends the volunteers of ALONE. It is a brilliant organisation to which we are all indebted. As previously outlined, the Department of Social Protection provides targeted payments to help people with their household costs, including fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, the household benefits package and the additional needs payments. While these supports can, of course, help older persons with the cost of digital services, providing access to these services is also a priority for this Government. In this regard, the Government is providing significant funding through the national broadband plan, which will and is improving to be a game-changer in making sure people are maintaining access. It is important to keep a focus on that.

The existing supports within the Department, along with recent budget increases, will continue to support this important cohort. However, I understand the points that the Senator is making. I absolutely believe this is something that perhaps he could take up further as the social welfare Bill passes through the House. Moving from €2.50 to €10 per week in one step is a large amount in one go for 164,000 people. We can all do the maths in our heads if we want to, but that does not mean that it not without merit. I commend the Senator on raising the issue and encourage him to keep pushing it with the relevant line Ministers.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.