Elderly living in crumbling homes 'terrified' of winter ahead - Beard

Elderly people living in crumbling defective concrete homes are stressed and 'terrified' of the winter ahead. 100% Redress Councillor Joy Beard said she feels 'angry' after she spoke to an elderly gentleman in his late 70s. The homeowner, said Cllr Beard, is 'stressed, worried, in poor health and has resigned himself that he will be living in his crumbling house forever more.' Cllr Beard disclosed that 'barely a week goes by' that she is not 'contacted by a pensioner enquiring about the scheme.' She added: "Every older person deserves the opportunity to grow old safely, warmly and with dignity in their own home. "But the reality here in Donegal tells a very different story. "Because of years of light-touch regulation, inadequate market surveillance and failures in the construction industry, many of our elderly citizens are now trapped in homes that are structurally unsafe, damp, cold and steadily deteriorating around them with no way out! "What makes this even more heartbreaking is that many simply cannot afford to start the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme. "They have worked hard all their lives, paid their taxes, raised families and contributed to their communities, yet they are now having to find large sums of money before they can even begin to make their homes safe - as pensioners "Barely a week goes by that I’m not contacted by a pensioner enquiring about the scheme. "They tell me they are terrified of the winter ahead. "Their know their homes are almost impossible to heat, with heating bills often twice that of a normal home. "With the cost of home heating oil currently many are left wondering how they will keep warm. "That’s no way for our elderly to live - houses that are cracking, damp and unsafe, that’s why I am angry. Cllr Beard continued: "I keep saying this and it’s true. "This is not just a housing issue. It is a public health issue, a social justice issue, a mental health crisis and a failure of the State to protect some of its most vulnerable citizens. "No elderly person should have to spend their retirement living in fear of the next crack appearing, the next storm, or the next heating bill arriving through the letterbox. "Can you honestly believe this is happening in Ireland in 2026?" Cllr Beard said an 'end-to-end scheme' is needed. "We often speak about respecting our older generation. "Respect is not shown through words alone. Respect means ensuring they can live safely, securely and with dignity in the homes they spent a lifetime building. "Our elderly need an end to end scheme, we are not second class citizens!"