Vulnerable older people who had made their significant contribution to the building of the nation should not be deprived of the support provided under the ‘Community Support for Older People’ Scheme.

This was stated in a letter written by Marian Harkin MEP to Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs Mr. Eamon O’Cuiv in which she appealed for the retention of the Scheme in whole or at least in part.

Marian Harkin said:- “I have had many representations on this issue which involves the provision of security measures including personal alarm pendants, window and door locks, sensor lights etc.  Their availability at minimum cost has been hugely beneficial in giving independence to older people and especially those living in rural areas.  It is essential that older people, many living alone, have a sense of security which substantially contributes to their quality of life.

“Cutbacks in home help and personal assistants has already shaken the confidence of many older people who can benefit so much from remaining in the familiar surroundings of their own home.

“At a minimum I have requested the Minister to retain the provision of pendants and sensor lights which would address the really important issues of security.  This would be a far less cost on the State than having to sustain older people in nursing homes where inevitably they would have to go when they lost confidence in the security afforded in their own homes.  In fact the cost of a pendant and a sensor light would be the equivalent of the cost to the State of 10 days in a nursing home.

“Logic demands that the ‘Community Support for Older People Scheme’ must be retained in the security interest of older people and in the financial interest of the State”, Marian Harkin MEP concluded.