3rd June 2016 ALONE have commended and corroborated the report launched today by the Irish Association of Social Workers, Age Action and Alzheimer’s Association. ALONE have long been advocating for additional home help hours and investment in community care. Currently 75% of the government’s budget for care of older people is spent on the 6% of older people in nursing home care.
All of ALONE’s work focuses on supporting older people to age at home. From their daily experience working with hundreds of older people ALONE recognise that home help hours are a vital element in the overall package of supports that older people need to age in the community. ALONE work with the individual older person to coordinate the supports around their medical, social, financial and housing needs and address any obstacles that stops them ageing at home.
ALONE has a team of Support Coordinators who work to connect older people living alone with the necessary support services in their community. Every day the Support Coordinators experience the challenges outlined in today’s report. Without assistance from charities like ALONE it is incredibly difficult for older people to get access services like home help hours and as a result many are being forced into nursing homes before their time.
CEO of ALONE Sean Moynihan said, “We strongly advocate the findings outlined in this report, and feel that they largely support everything we’ve been fighting for over the last number of years. It’s time for the government to listen to the organisations working on a day-to-day basis with older people in need of care. Almost all organisations in the sector are aligned in their recommendations yet the government continues to pour money into costlier solutions. Community supports are proven to be more cost effective than nursing home care and it’s incredibly baffling that the government persists in ignoring these facts.
Moynihan continued, “On an individual and community level, we really need to look at how we want to take care of our older population. The older demographic is growing at an unprecedented rate and we need the government to back logical solutions, instead we are seeing the sector become increasingly privatised which we find extremely concerning”.
As part of their range of services, ALONE operates a model of Housing with Care where they support older people to age at home. This is a model where older people live independently with the relevant supports they need. Housing with Care is a cost conscious alternative to nursing homes which is better for the community and preferred by many older people, ALONE would welcome the opportunity to work with the government and expand this successful service.
Additional Home help hours are also key to easing crisis in hospitals – delayed discharges due to a lack of community supports are estimated to cost the HSE almost ½ million every night. Despite this, home help hours have been cut from 11.7 million in 2010 to 10.4m in 2016 and 2016’s budget for home supports is €324m while Nursing Homes Support Scheme is €940million.
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
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
Shelby Unger
083 060 2419
Volunteer Support Officer
Grainne Kennedy
086 108 2524
Volunteer Support Officer
Vacant
0818 222 024
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
Ciaran Gilligan
083 878 6080
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