ALONE calls for Cost of Living crisis relief for older people, survey shows many older people impacted by rising costs.

Dublin, September 10th:  ALONE calls on Government to put in place long term cost of living relief by increasing targeted supports for older people who are greatly affected by the costs of living increases. In its annual older person survey pointed to financial concerns among older people they support. 

The survey – the biggest and most comprehensive survey of its type ALONE has ever conducted – shows that many of the older people ALONE supports are facing real financial hardship. This comes in the context of troubling CSO/SILC figures, which show that, without cost-of-living measures, 45.6% of older people living alone would have been at risk of poverty in 2024. 

ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said: “The message we’re getting from this survey and the over 43,000 older people we support is simple; older people can’t wait. They can’t wait for action on the cost of living; they can’t wait for action on housing; and they cannot face into winter not knowing how they’ll heat their homes. 1 in 3 people we asses mention financial difficulties, ranging from utility bills, food bills to housing expenses. We’ve now had it confirmed that government does not intend to repeat one-off cost-of-living measures in this budget. If those gaps aren’t filled by targeted measures, we’re looking at more older people being at risk of poverty”. 

Respondents to the survey said there are several pressure points currently stretching older people’s resources. One respondent said: 

“You feel under pressure at all times due to the financial stress that comes from the increased cost of living and this feeling gets worse as you head towards the winter months.” 

Another said: “There are two of us in the house and I don’t tell the other half about the bills so as not to worry them. I try to juggle the money every week as I worry about it all the time.” 

“I’m terrified my oil won’t last”, another respondent said; “I stopped eating meat. I cut down on fruit and I go to bed early because the house is very cold. I get very depressed” 

CSO/SILC research also shows that 45.6% of older people living alone would have been at risk of poverty last year without government once off cost-of-living supports, ALONE’s pre-budget submission includes urgent pleas for targeted measures in: 

 An increase in the state pension of at least €22 in 2026, followed by implementation of a benchmarked pension in 2027. 

• Minimum increases of €20 to the Fuel Allowance, €10 to the Living Alone Allowance, and €7.50 to the Telephone Support Allowance. 

• The establishment and funding of a Commissioner for Older People. 

• A €10m fund to support those experiencing energy poverty. 

Moynihan continued: “The older people we work with are more likely to be in poorer health. They visit the GP twice as often as the national average, and they’re seven times more likely to need to go A&E. We know engaging with ALONE brings those figures down – but it does show that many older people are already in a precarious position. Prices aren’t coming down, the core pension rate isn’t keeping pace with inflation or the cost of living, and more older people are exposed to skyrocketing rents. That’s before you add the loss of energy credits and one-off payments into the mix, and that’s what our proposals are aimed at addressing”. 

These are among several measures to support Ireland’s ageing population outlined in their Budget submission.

A summary of our Budget 2026 Submission document is available at: https://alone.ie/library/alone-pre-budget-2026-summary/