Sir, - I was appalled to read the gruesome attack on Tom Casey, the 76 year old man in Galway. The man's body was not discovered for two full days while his head lay covered in a pool of his own blood.
Practically every day another elderly person is murdered in the West of Ireland. Why these vulnerable, yet innocent people should suffer at the hands of these criminals recurrently, is outrageous.
Although the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, announced some tax relief for the over 65s who have alarms installed, this came too late for many of the recent victims. However, I do not view the Minister's gesture as a complete solution.
Most of the elderly are not as technically competent as the internet surfers of today and the frustration of the utilisation may prove for some, too demanding. Then there is the problem of forgetfulness, unfortunately it can be a trait of the elderly. They could easily forget to activate the alarm or to close a window or numerous other small jobs which affect the operation of the alarm.
A solution which I suggest could be that social workers in the area conduct regular checks on the elderly in the community. Perhaps Tom Casey would not have suffered, alone, on his kitchen floor if a social worker had visited him at least once in that two day period. Many of the elderly may lie injured and helpless recovering from their own harrowing ordeal. Even if they are beaten continuously but survive for a few hours, they may die eventually, alone with no one to rescue them.
Hopefully, the murders can be stopped and the horror of these ordeals contained. - Yours, etc.,
Churchtown, Dublin 14.