PENSIONERS who live alone will qualify for up to £800 tax relief at the standard rate if they wish to install burglar alarms, the Minister for Finance announced in yesterday's Budget.
The tax relief, which will be worth around £216 to an individual paying tax at the 27 per cent rate, will be available for two years.
Mr Quinn said yesterday that the move would cost the Exchequer approximately £750,000 a year.
The move comes at a time when there appears to be a growing number of violent attacks on the elderly, especially in rural areas and fears for the safety of those living alone.
The measure was warmly welcomed by the Irish Security Industry Association (ISIA) yesterday, which said it would help protect old people by encouraging them to have alarms installed in their homes.
An ISIA spokesman told The Irish Times that there was not a high rate of take up off alarms among older people. He said there are around 260,000 alarms installed in commercial and domestic properties in Ireland. However, he said, there are about 800,000 home owners.
The spokesman also said that 92 per cent of all burglaries take place in homes which are not protected by alarm systems.
He said the measure would also encourage people to use reputable intruder alarm installers. The ISIA said more than 200 alarm installation companies are certified by the industry, but there are up to 500 in the sector, many of which are unapproved operations.
The spokesman added that it the ISIA estimates that 2,000-3,000 people are employed in the alarm installation sector.