In its submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands the organisation calls for the state pension and other social welfare payments benchmarked.
Dublin, April 10th: ALONE, the organisation that supports older people to age at home, addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands today to highlight the complexity and inaccessibility of the social welfare system.
ALONE provided support to over 36,000 older people in 2023. 12,000 of those people were new to their service, and we supported over 31,000 older people indirectly through our Community impact network.
The number of support interventions ALONE provided in finance almost doubled in 2023 compared to 2022. Approximately 2,775 people newly assessed by ALONE indicated that they had issues with Finance, and among them, almost half had issues with their benefits and entitlements. ALONE also called attention to the Government’s commitment to applying a benchmark to the State Pension which was stated for Budget 2021.
ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said “ALONE has actively campaigned for over 10 years to have the state pension and other social welfare payments benchmarked and we were happy to see it included in the Programme for this Government. The lack of progress in delivering it remains frustrating.”
He continued “This is needed for the older people who rely solely on the state pension and live in or at the constant threat of poverty, while their housing and other costs spiral. These people form the majority of whom ALONE works with each day.”
The Issues with benefits and entitlements mean the person did not know they were entitled to a particular support, and/or needed assistance to fill out the forms to access the support. Often, older people approach ALONE because they are in financial difficulty, and it emerges that they are not receiving all they are entitled to. By the time an organisation like ALONE supports them to secure these benefits they are often in dire need.
CEO Seán Moynihan concluded “It is ALONE’s view that streamlining of eligibility criteria and reducing the levels of means testing being used across the entitlements available from this Department, would have significant impact on older people’s ability to know about and access the supports they are entitled to, while reducing the administrative cost burden. This can also be achieved through initiatives such as benchmarking the State pension. We witnessed how the €1.2bn package of once off winter payments alleviated poverty rates for over 65’s, in the recent CSO figures, proving how close people are to poverty when relying on state pension income. “
ALONE’s Policy Asks for Government concerning Pensions and Income
ALONE will continue to campaign on behalf of the older people we support in areas like loneliness, housing, Pensions & Income, Home Support Care and ageism.
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
Shelby Unger
083 060 2419
Northeast Wicklow
Milltown, Churchtown & Dundrum
Donnybrook, Ranelagh & Ringsend
Volunteer Support Officer
Grainne Kennedy
086 108 2524
Volunteer Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Ciaran Gilligan
083 878 6080
Tuam, Athenry & Loughrea (CHN Learning Site)
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Kevin White
089 409 0549
Balbriggan, Skerries & Lusk
Vacant
0818 222 024
St. Margaret”s, Finglas & Glasnevin
Maura O’Shea
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Michael Kennedy
086 440 2894
Telephone Support Coordinator
Jacob Shakespeare
Telephone Support Coordinator
Anne Marie mc Allister
086 440 7825
Telephone Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Officer
Sharon McManus
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Greg O’Reilly
083 385 1221
North Meath & Ardee
Paula Boyce
0818 222 024
East Meath
John Stillman
0818 222 024
Location tbc
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Anne Murphy
086 035 3904
Volunteer Support Officer
Frances Sheerin
086 108 5965
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
National Support Line Coordinators
Aoife Callaghan
Sarah kerr
Aoife Callaghan
Bridgeen Coyle
086 032 6801
087 179 3782
086 032 6801
086 014 6732
Service Manager
Natalie Johnson
083 062 5854
South Dublin Inner City
Vacant
0818 222 024
Rathfarnham, Knocklyon & Ballyboden
Vacant
0818 222 024
Newcastle, Citywest & Saggart
Joe Sullivan
0818 222 024
Northwest Kildare
Annemarie Molloy
Patricia Scanlon
086 013 7256
Service Manager
Lola Fitzgibbon
086 084 1360
Southwest Wexford
Natalia Gembicka
086 014 4915
Service Manager
Siobhan Walsh
086 084 1674
Northeast Cork
Vacant
0818 222 024
Central Cork
Veronica Reidy
Clare Seymour
086 075 3867
086 107 9433
Telephone Support Coordinator
Geraldine Commins
086 013 1570
Volunteer Support Officer
Mairead Egan
087 253 1380
Volunteer Support Officer
Maria O’Connor
Volunteer Support Officer
Tracey Kearney
086 440 9893
Service Manager
Martina Kinane
087 407 4085
Caroline Bradley
West Limerick
Margaret Collum
Volunteer Support Officers
Aoife Dennehy
086 211 5307
Volunteer Support Officers
Vacant
0818 222 024
Service Manager
Frances Browne
087 751 6087
Inishowen (CHN Learning Site)
Bronagh Doyle
086 171 6984
Inishowen (CHN Learning Site)
Gráinne Hargan
West Donegal
Emma Kennedy
086 720 8686
Donegal inishowen
Vacant
0818 222 024
Telephone Support Coordinator
Deirdre Browne
074 932 1598
Telephone Support Coordinator
Catherine Reilly
National Support & Referral Line Coordinator
Kathleen Bonner