Dublin, 19th February 2015 ALONE welcomes Minister Varadkars motivation to remove the existing cap on Fair Deal Scheme funding and hope the cabinet will support him in this matter. The budget for Fair deal has changed from €998 million in 2013 to €950million in 2015 despite our dramatically ageing population.
Minister Varadkar said on Monday that he “would like to see the budget cap removed”. ALONE are asking that the Minister take the next step and take this matter to The Cabinet or the Taoiseach for approval so that he can then amend the legistlation. The waiting list is currently at 11 weeks but it is projected to increase to 18 – 20 weeks unless immediate action is taken.
Sean Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer of ALONE commented, “We, like Minister Varadkar believe that the Fair Deal Scheme should be designed to respond to the needs of the older people who will need it, and vulnerable older people shouldn’t be punished simply because the scheme was significantly underfunded to begin with. As the Fair Deal Scheme is capped it means that when the money is gone, there is little hope of an older person securing a bed, regardless of their need. We are now left with a situation where someone has to die before money is freed up to give someone a place. This is not a suitable or humane way to run a health service.’’
Moynihan elaborated, “Whilst we do believe that the Fair Deal Scheme needs improvement, we also believe the Government should be looking elsewhere for solutions. It is a very outdated model to put those who are not entirely dependent on full time care into nursing homes. Many older people want to remain independent in their own communities for as long as possible and the government should be supporting them by providing adequate primary care services, instead of cutting them”.
ALONE believes that older people should be supported to live within the community by providing suitable accommodation, home supports and social outlets. This type of model makes sense to the individual, the community and the economy, and there are many other models worldwide that can be copied and adapted. ALONE would welcome a conversation with the Government around other cost effective solutions for housing and care for older people in the community.
Moynihan continued, “We need to break down the dependency on the private sector and on expensive options in the provision of care for our older people. In the last few years opportunities have been missed where the government could better utilised resources that they have for the care of older people”.
ALONE have conducted a cost comparison on the various options for caring for older people:
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Service Manager
Kevin White
089 409 0549
Telephone Support Coordinator
Anne Marie mc Allister
Telephone Support Coordinator
Mary Mc Hugh
Service Manager
Greg O’Reilly
083 385 1221
East Meath
Gabriel Gough
Service Manager
Natalie Johnson
083 062 5854
Service Manager
Shelby Unger
083 060 2419
Service Manager
Lola Fitzgibbon
086 084 1360
Service Manager
Siobhan Walsh
086 084 1674
Blarney , Fairhill,Faranree,
Gurranebraher,Knocknaheeny,
Hollyhill , Sunday’s Well,Mardyke , City Centre)
Jessica Twohig
Service Manager
Martina Kinane
087 407 4085
Service Manager
Ciaran Gilligan
083 878 6080
Service Manager
Frances Browne
087 751 6087