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An economic and social evaluation of the Senior Help Line in Ireland
- Author:
- O'SHEA Eamon
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 26(2), March 2006, pp.267-284.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The Senior Help Line in Ireland provides a confidential telephone listening service for socially-excluded older people and is operated by older volunteers. This paper provides a systematic examination and assessment of the service, from the perspectives of costs, outcomes and best practice. The study uses personal interviews, focus groups and postal questionnaires to elicit information about the service and its impact on volunteers and callers. The Senior Help Line has made a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of older people in Ireland at relatively low cost. The service demonstrates the positive effects of volunteering for older people, and the value and effectiveness of peer-to-peer communication for vulnerable callers. The help-line is a model project in terms of accountability and best practice, but requires additional resources, particularly for publicity and training. It needs to become a branded national service for vulnerable older people to meet the level of need for a service of this kind. The help-line also needs to be linked more formally to existing health and social care provision for older people, to become part of a holistic model of healthy ageing for older people. For the service to reach its manifest potential, the efforts of the volunteers need to be supported by higher and sustained levels of public spending, through more widespread and substantial public-voluntary partnership arrangements.
Is there a trade-off between pensions and home ownership? : an exploration of the Irish case
- Author:
- FAHEY Tony
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 13(2), May 2003, pp.159-173.
- Publisher:
- Sage
It has been argued that, in countries with high levels of owner occupation of housing, home ownership can serve as a substitute for generous pensions for older people. Two possible linking mechanisms have been posited in this context, one focusing on budget constraints (high housing costs associated with home purchase makes the funding of generous pensions unaffordable), the other on needs or incentives (high home ownership gives older people material security and so makes generous pensions unnecessary). This article examines Ireland as a test case in this context. It finds no evidence that either of the posited linking mechanisms were present in Ireland. House purchase costs historically have been too low to constrain pension development, while the distributive benefits for the elderly have been too modest to obviate the need for higher pension income. However, other distributive effects emerge as important, particularly the positive historical consequences of inflation and low real interest rates for home purchasers of all ages and the implicit subsidy to home ownership provided by savers
Housing choices discussion paper 1: what is the evidence for the cost or cost-effectiveness of housing and support options for people with care or support needs?
- Authors:
- HARFLETT Naomi, et al
- Publisher:
- National Development Team for Inclusion
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 12
- Place of publication:
- Bath
A brief summary of evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of residential care and other housing and support options for older people, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems. It draws on a review of peer reviewed and grey literature in the UK and Ireland from 2000 onwards. The paper highlights limitations in the available evidence, which include limitations in terms of quantity; quality; lack of reliability of unit costs used in the research, and difficulties of making comparisons across studies. It then provides a broad summary of the evidence that is available. The paper finds that limitations in quality and quantity mean that there is not sufficient, reliable evidence in which to inform housing and support decisions on the basis of cost. It concludes that there is therefore a strong argument that decisions about an individual’s housing and support should be based on other factors supported in current health and social care policy such as rights, inclusion, choice and control. (Edited publisher abstract)
Care provision and cost measurement: dependent elderly people at home and in geriatric hospitals
- Authors:
- BLACKWELL John, et al
- Publisher:
- Economic and Social Research Institute
- Publication year:
- 1992
- Pagination:
- 252p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Dublin
Study comparing the costs of caring for older people in Ireland in the community and in long-stay institutions. Looks in particular at how costs change as dependency levels change.