Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
935. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the level of funding for the senior alert scheme in each of the past five years; the number of applications approved in each year; the number of applications rejected in each year; whether the funding for 2026 has been exhausted or whether new applications will be accepted; and if so, the waiting times that will apply. [28731/26]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind.
Funding is available under the scheme towards the purchase, by a registered community-based organisation, of a personal alarm or pendant and one year of monitoring.
The scheme has an allocation of €3.2million in 2026, with additional support from the 2026 Dormant Accounts Fund. Expenditure to date in 2026 under the SAS initiative has been €1.99million.
Since the scheme was launched in 2015, almost 164,000 participants have been approved for the alarms, including over 17,700 in 2025. I wish to confirm that every eligible applicant under the scheme to date has been accepted. Applications are normally approved by Pobal within 2 working days and the supplier has a target of 10 working days to install the equipment.
My Department is currently reviewing all aspects of the Seniors Alert Scheme, including the technology and services available, and I hope to launch of a new iteration of the scheme later in 2026. The new iteration will be administered by Age Friendly Ireland, on behalf of my Department. The current working title of the new iteration is the Age Friendly Assistive Technology Scheme.
Age Friendly Ireland (AFI) is a local government shared service that is hosted by Meath County Council on behalf of all 31 local authorities. AFI has a coordinator in each local authority area and is well placed to provide the additional wrap around supports that older people may require to assist them to continue living independently in their own homes. It is anticipated that this will add significant value to the overall delivery of the Seniors Alert Scheme into the future.
The transition of administration of the scheme from Pobal to AFI will be as seamless as possible. Pobal will continue to process new applications, installations and queries for the coming weeks and months.
A new procurement process for devices to be made available under the new iteration of the scheme has begun. I wish to confirm that all devices that have already been provided to users will continue to operate as usual and participant community groups can still refer new participants to Pobal, or engage with them about any queries that they may have on the SAS scheme.
Expenditure for the SAS during 2021 – to date in 2026 is listed below:
Year Expenditure €m
2021 €4.86
2022 €4.59
2023 €6.18
2024 €6.31
2025 €5.23
2026 *€1.99
*Expenditure to date in 2026
Please see table below showing breakdown of approved participants for the years 2021 to 31st March 2026, per county.
|
County (participant) |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
31st March 2026 |
Total |
|
Carlow |
188 |
194 |
175 |
231 |
219 |
62 |
1069 |
|
Cavan |
318 |
412 |
374 |
471 |
297 |
84 |
1956 |
|
Clare |
392 |
371 |
524 |
606 |
452 |
99 |
2444 |
|
Cork |
1812 |
1970 |
2441 |
2515 |
2085 |
605 |
11428 |
|
Donegal |
781 |
1001 |
1117 |
1098 |
778 |
178 |
4953 |
|
Dublin |
3677 |
3900 |
4847 |
5086 |
4486 |
1134 |
23130 |
|
Galway |
1326 |
1451 |
1672 |
1767 |
1052 |
292 |
7560 |
|
Kerry |
554 |
562 |
567 |
749 |
620 |
194 |
3246 |
|
Kildare |
341 |
514 |
557 |
869 |
802 |
258 |
3341 |
|
Kilkenny |
246 |
272 |
332 |
324 |
281 |
62 |
1517 |
|
Laois |
124 |
223 |
289 |
359 |
295 |
89 |
1379 |
|
Leitrim |
175 |
217 |
239 |
237 |
170 |
51 |
1089 |
|
Limerick |
581 |
575 |
766 |
765 |
696 |
171 |
3554 |
|
Longford |
126 |
162 |
198 |
184 |
160 |
60 |
890 |
|
Louth |
271 |
389 |
517 |
711 |
594 |
159 |
2641 |
|
Mayo |
841 |
856 |
1026 |
1005 |
592 |
147 |
4467 |
|
Meath |
513 |
601 |
557 |
675 |
626 |
166 |
3138 |
|
Monaghan |
353 |
336 |
359 |
401 |
267 |
66 |
1782 |
|
Offaly |
537 |
361 |
483 |
480 |
322 |
127 |
2310 |
|
Roscommon |
215 |
269 |
334 |
400 |
309 |
65 |
1592 |
|
Sligo |
444 |
454 |
541 |
504 |
266 |
82 |
2291 |
|
Tipperary |
766 |
645 |
794 |
825 |
667 |
164 |
3861 |
|
Waterford |
348 |
353 |
451 |
473 |
386 |
76 |
2087 |
|
Westmeath |
222 |
230 |
315 |
396 |
346 |
87 |
1596 |
|
Wexford |
481 |
366 |
503 |
424 |
383 |
133 |
2290 |
|
Wicklow |
339 |
331 |
464 |
637 |
587 |
121 |
2479 |
|
Total |
15971 |
17015 |
20442 |
22192 |
17738 |
4732 |
98090 |
