Local Labour candidate, Christy Galligan, will raise the recent problem of attacks on elderly people in Donegal with Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, when he meets her later this month.
Former Garda Christy Galligan
Galligan has requested the meeting with Minister Burton to discuss his initiative, CEART – Community Effective Action Response Teams.
The plan aims to tackle the problem by mobilising local communities and liaising with local Gardai.
He says: “This is a major issue for many elderly people across Donegal and something must be done at Government level so that these people feel safe in their homes again. I look forward to outlining the situation in detail to Minister Burton shortly and asking for her co-operation in confronting the problem head-on.
“Specifically, I will be seeking to discuss with Minister Burton the recruitment of people in Garda districts as Community Officers and I will be asking whether it is possible to facilitate the recruitment of these Officers through one of the Department of Social Protection’s job activation programmes, such as Jobskills or Gateway.”
He added that in order for CEART to work properly, we need the participation from the relevant statutory bodies, which he will also be discussing with Minister Burton.
“The aim of each Community Officer will be to ensure that each elderly person is visited at least once every other day and at night to see what, if any, their requirements are and interact with them.
“Based roughly on the Garda Districts, each area layout will have a number of dedicated and trained Community Officers, and they will be given training to ensure that the goals outlined from the Board are achieved. They will also be vetted by the authorities.
“I presented CEART to the 1,200 people who attended the last meeting on this issue in Manorcunningham and I have been heartened by the positive response to date. I look forward to relating the views and concerns of people in Letterkenny and beyond to Minister Burton when I meet her over the next few weeks, and to keeping people informed of my progress on that front.”
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