Social services across Mayo facing an uncertain future

Crisis 'coming down the line' for meals on wheels due to escalating costs

The meals-on-wheels service across Mayo is facing an uncertain future.

An Oireachtas committee has been told that a crisis is coming down the line due to a number of factors.

Tracey Noone, national development officer of the Meals-on-Wheels Network, said providers, of which there are 18 registered in Mayo, are repeatedly raising concerns that recruiting and retaining new volunteers is becoming more difficult, particularly in rural areas.

There are also huge challenges in respect of funding due to increased overheads despite clients paying €49 for the seven-day service.

The average cost of preparing and delivering a meal is now around €8.57 - with the HSE supporting approximately €2.73 of the fee.

However, one in five providers receive no per-meal funding whatsoever while two thirds get no contribution towards their staffing costs. Overall, HSE funding covers only around a quarter of the reported cost of delivery.

Deirdre Waldron, manager of Castlebar Social Services, told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development the cost of running the service 365 days of the year in the county town is €500,000, for which they receive funding of €75,000.

Her organisation is not running at a loss because they are fortunate to have a building in which rooms can be rented out.

“Even at that,” she explained, “we are struggling. We should not have to be begging to pay for essential services. They are huge bills for us, never mind the normal day-to-day running costs. My request would be the additional capital funding.

"The amount of work our volunteers and staff do on a given day is more than just a meal. I know we say that a thousand times a day."

Ms. Waldron said their vehicle is three years old and it is nearly coming off the road.

“I rang the HSE and said that our service for meals may shut down because we do not have a chilled van. We cover a 40-mile radius.

“I applied for a grant in January but was not eligible because they cut off anyone who got funding in the past three years. It took them until October to tell me I was not getting this.

“I was reliant on that vehicle. It has now gone back to Minister Calleary's office and I have to beg, borrow and steal now to try to get it. It would then have to go to tender.”

Another challenge on the horizon is the ageing population.

There are currently 532,000 people nationally over the age of 65 and it is estimated that by 2046 the figure will be 1.4 million, an increase of 167%.

This will result in a massive demand for all social services down the road, the Oireachtas committee has been informed.