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A charity that supports tens of thousands of older people in Ireland has called for the state pension to be increased by \u20ac7 in this year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\nA charity that supports tens of thousands of older people in Ireland has called for the state pension to be increased by \u20ac7 in this year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
Alone has also suggested the restoration of the fuel allowance to 32 weeks.<\/p>\n
The call comes as the charity said that more than 63,000 people over the age of 65 experience enforced deprivation.<\/p>\n
It also claimed that 1.3% of people over 50 don\u2019t have an indoor flushing toilet \u2013 18,800 in total across Ireland.<\/p>\n
There are currently 235 people over the age of 60 who are on the charity\u2019s housing waiting list.<\/p>\n
Communications officer Grainne Loughran said older people are stuck in situations that many members of the public would not think exists in today\u2019s society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one we\u2019ve seen grow over the last number of years is the number of people that are on the housing waiting list,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Loughran said these are people either experiencing homelessness or who might be at risk of homelessness.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen these figures creep up and up over the last number of months and years to the point where this year alone 145 people over 60 years old have come to Alone who are homeless or at risk of homelessness \u2013 these are staggering figures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most common issues that we see that older people are experiencing around finance is that people don\u2019t have \u2018rainy day\u2019 funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf somebody doesn\u2019t have family or neighbors or somebody who\u2019s close to them to support them, often these people find themselves in very vulnerable situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, we do see cases of elder abuse and we\u2019ve seen in the HSE figures that those numbers have risen over the last two years and it\u2019s something that we are seeing more of.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Budget 2020 to be announced next week, Alone has called for the state pension to increase by \u20ac7 each year for the next three years, to bring it up by around \u20ac21 in total.<\/p>\n
They have also called for the restoration of the fuel allowance to 32 weeks and an increase in the Living Alone Allowance to \u20ac14 per week. There has been no rise in this allowance for several years.<\/p>\n
The charity is also calling for the Home Care Coalition to increase the Home Support Service for older people budget by \u20ac110m.<\/p>\n
Among the most frequent cases seen by Alone staff are people suffering from the impact of rising accommodation costs, with more older people living in private rented accommodation find it increasingly difficult to pay as rents are increased.<\/p>\n
Other common issues include difficulties maintaining housing standards, paying utilities bills, the cost of transport in rural areas, and paying for home supports.<\/p>\n
Sean Moynihan, chief executive of Alone, said: \u201cWe\u2019re trying to improve people\u2019s quality of life, deep down that\u2019s what we try and do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about improving independence, quality of life, health and mental health and increase well being.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for an awful lot of people, no matter what challenges they face, they want to maintain their their own autonomy, their own decision making and help them maintain their capacities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alone has around 1,500 volunteers helping some 3,500 older people.<\/p>\n