Govt miss opportunity to target older people with supports this winter, ALONE

While budget measures will deliver slight relief there is a shortfall in income from last year for energy and living costs among the older people the organisation works with. 

Dublin, October 7th ALONE, the organisation that supports older people to age at home, today has said that although the pension and fuel allowance have increased, older people living alone are still at risk of poverty this winter and over €300 worse off compared to last year. Today’s Budget does not remove the risk of poverty for older people in need – particularly those that live alone. 

Reacting to Budget 2026, ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said: “This was always going to be a tough budget, with the government warning in advance that last year’s one-off measures wouldn’t be repeated. To that end, we welcome the increases in Housing Adaptation Grants, which will go some way towards allowing people to age at home safely and comfortably and increase the number of grants to 17,000 per annum. We also welcome the increase in home care hours to 1.7m but await exact funding details. We will analyse the increased health investments further to gauge the impact on older people also”.  

Continuing he said “However, the scale of the cost-of-living crisis remains stark; CSO figures show that 45.6% of older living alone would have been at risk of poverty without last year’s one-off measures. With the cost of living failing to stabilise, and with more older people coming to ALONE for support with issues around housing, finances and physical health needs, the lack of targeted support like the Living Alone allowance in this year’s budget will be a cause of concern for many. Older people living alone are at the highest risk of poverty, for any group, by household composition“.  

62% of the older people surveyed by ALONE last year reported that the cost-of-living increases had affected their financial situation, with 20% reporting a severe financial impact. 

Moynihan added “The failure to benchmark the state pension, despite commitments stretching back almost a decade, will deeply disappoint countless older people throughout Ireland, including those most in need. The government’s next Roadmap for Social Inclusion – which we’ve been told to expect in early 2026 – must include not just a commitment to benchmarking the state pension in line with other EU countries, but a timeline and legislative framework for this essential and long-delayed measure “.   

Last year ALONE delivered. 

• 43,982 Older People supported by volunteers and staff across ALONE in 2024 

• 9,117 Volunteers contributed 264,430 hours in 2024, a 21% increase from 2023, worth up to €7.81 million 

• 109,040 Visitation Support and Befriending visits (20% increase on 2023) and 213,506 Telephone Support and Befriending calls (13% increase on 2023). 

• 25,227 Calls to the National Support and Referral line. 

Concluding Sean Moynihan said: “Not everyone ages the same and there is a lot of support needed behind the front doors of older people across Ireland, ALONE does its best with our volunteers and staff to deliver that. They need government to address their concerns also and deliver targeted support to those most in need at a time of great prosperity”.