Demand for senior alarms quadruples in Offaly

The demand for the senior alert scheme alarms in Offaly has quadrupled according to Conor O'Leary, Muntir na Tíre Community Alert Development Officer for the Midlands, who says that since the attack on an Offaly farmer in November last year, there has been a surge in applications.

Farmer Richie McKelvey was robbed at his home at Brosna, Birr when four men forced their way into the man's farmhouse late last year.

He was assaulted and locked in a shed around 2am in the morning, before he managed to escape to a neighbouring house to raise the alarm.

"The demand has quadrupled. While it's difficult to get our hands on the exact figures, I would deal with an awful lot of community alert schemes and there was huge demand for the senior alert scheme alarms. They were running out of stock and they had to source stock from other areas," explains Mr O'Leary.

"The surge wasn't unique to Offaly, there were a few incidents in the Autumn, which all put together led to fear. People spoke about their fear of crime, and certainly the attack on the Offaly farmer was mentioned a number of times at meetings. 

“The general feeling is that that attack was a major factor in people applying for the senior alert alarms.

"The reality is these events are unusual and uncommon, as the statistics go - we live in a very safe society. But there was a few incidents throughout the country at the time, and while it has a huge impact on the victims themselves, it also has a wider impact in the community, and it creates a ripple effect into all areas of the country," Mr O'Leary continued.

"These incidents really hit at the heart of people's feeling of safety and security. An awful lot of people living in rural Ireland are feeling isolated, they are living in fear.

"Thankfully, the seasons do make a difference, that was the winter time and the longer evenings we're having now do help. 

“But we saw again the surge in fear in connection to the attack on the two elderly people again in Cavan at the weekend," he concluded.