Lack of funding for elderly ‘a disgrace’

THE lack of enough funding from the Council or the Government for housing aid grants for older people has been slammed as a “national disgrace.”

Independent Cllr Michael Clarke was commenting on a motion by Sinn Féin Cllr Chris MacManus seeking such funding for older residents needing to repair their homes.

Senior Executive Officer Joe Murphy told Cllr MacManus that the Council had already allocated €1 million earmarked for 2019 to two other schemes and had no more resources for a Housing Aid for Older People Scheme as proposed by Cllr MacManus: “We would be swamped,” he said.

The matter will be reviewed again once the Government delivers the full 2019 allocation for such grants but ring fencing a portion for such a scheme would depend on the amount allocated.

Cllr MacManus said it made for “disappointing listening.”

Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady supported his motion, adding that there had been nothing since 2009 for older people to “do up the fabric of their house.”

“I think it’s very important that we ring fence a portion to serve this third category,” she said, seconded by Cllr Thomas Healy.

Cllr Michael Clarke said such a grant was “vital to keep older people in their homes longer.”

“It’s amazing, our economy is going so well, we’ve nearly full employment and we can’t look after our older people. It’s a sad reflection on our State that we’re not doing anything to help people with their doors and windows. I can see people with leaky roofs…it’s a national disgrace,” he said.

Cllr Tom MacSharry agreed, YOU COULD JUDGE A SOCIETY ON HOW THEY TREAT THEIR OLDER SOCIETY. claiming you could “judge a society on how they treat their older people who had worked all their lives and reared their children and were now looking for something small like insulating their roofs.”

Cathaoirleach Cllr Martin Baker said: “The big problem is when a TD comes along and says we have all this money but it’s gone for this year.”