I thank the Deputy for his very important question and ongoing commitment to this particular area. When we were in the Seanad together, he raised this on many occasions. As he knows, our Department is responsible for the seniors alert scheme, which encourages community support for older people 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 for the purchase, by a registered community-based organisation, of a personal alarm or pendant. Since the scheme was launched in 2015, 156,488 participants have been approved for the alarms, including over 15,000 this year, and since 2015, 4,819 people from Kildare have availed of the scheme. My Department is reviewing all aspects of the seniors alert scheme, including the technology and services available, and I hope to launch a new iteration of the scheme in 2026. Any new iteration of the scheme will take into account the learnings from recent weather events - we heard this morning about Storm Éowyn being the most googled term this year - and will also have regard to modern technological advancements to ensure the most reliable, robust devices available are procured. The budget for 2025 is €3.2 million and this allocation has been maintained for next year, with additional funding allocated as necessary from the Dormant Accounts Fund. As the Deputy knows, the seniors alert scheme is a demand-led scheme and to date everybody who has applied to the scheme and meets the eligibility criteria has been approved. We and our officials in the Department will continue to monitor funding to ensure all eligible applicants can avail of the scheme.

Sentiment score: 0.39

The Deputy raises a pertinent point. The Department and its officials, in the review, are very conscious of new technological advances. However, the review will provide an opportunity to consider not just technological advancements but how to broaden the reach of the scheme to more vulnerable and older people. I will give the Deputy a flavour of it. The review has seen engagement with Pobal, telecoms operators, technology consultants and representative bodies for older people. In addition, on the Deputy’s point concerning the storm’s effect on electricity and broadband, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has been in consultation with Eir and ComReg on the replacement of the copper networks with fibre, which is another important part. The one thing we want to do is keep the scheme broad and open. We must be conscious that we cannot do anything that, as the Deputy said, would regress the scheme or create uncertainty. There is an impact due to the broadening of technology. We have to work to make sure we do not negate the scheme for the people who require it more than anybody else.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I will take the Deputy’s point back, including the example he raised. What we envisage is that the scheme will take into account the use of modern technology to ensure that people who are vulnerable or older and require the alarm are not left isolated on regular days, or on extreme weather days where power and communications are down. An extensive consultative process is ongoing with the representative groups. There is a potential impact given the replacement of the copper infrastructure, which is going to happen because it has to. We will have to phase that out, along with the use of remaining legacy devices. What we want to do, and are committed to doing as part of the review, is ensure that we include new technologies and broaden the target demographic, while ensuring there will be no negative impact due to what we do. The next iteration of the scheme will take into account the new advancements in technology and ensure that people who require the seniors alert alarm will have it. In particular, as the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I have discussed, it is important that during extreme weather events, people will not be isolated in their own homes.

Sentiment score: 0.11