Over 800 calls reporting loneliness this year

The Loneliness Taskforce has said that Government is not living up to their commitment to tackle loneliness and has called for more funding in this year’s budget.

This comes as ALONE reported that it has already received over 1,600 calls to their support and referral line this year from the Cork area, with 54 percent of those calls regarding loneliness and isolation issues.

The organisation supports over 1,800 older people in the wider Cork area, and over 68% of these live alone.

“So far this year we have delivered 1,096 supports related to loneliness and social Isolation raised by older people in the wider Cork area, and have closed 70 percent of them to date, but there is still more to be done,” said ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan.

The findings are in line with the national picture , as data shows that Ireland is the loneliest country in Europe. According to a EU-wide study, over 20% of respondents in Ireland reported feeling lonely most or all of the time, compared to the European average of 13%

Its findings have highlighted the impact of loneliness on mental and physical well-being. Previous studies have linked loneliness to depression and mental health difficulties and also to diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes, cancers and strokes. “Loneliness has significant negative mental and physical health impacts with costs not only to the individual but to society as a whole,” said a spokesperson for the Loneliness Taskforce.

“If another condition was so strongly associated with mortality and health difficulties, we would work strategically to reduce it across the population – like we do already with smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. Why has loneliness not received the same response?”

The Loneliness Taskforce is calling for €5 million in funding in Budget 2024 for development of the action plan, a public campaign, and support for organisations combating loneliness.

The spokesperson said that Government action is necessary to alleviate the severe consequences of loneliness on health and wellbeing. They called for a €5 million funding allocation to address and combat loneliness.

“In the context of the overall Budget and the current exchequer surplus, this investment is tiny, and it will prove to be a cost-saving measure with more lives lived with real connection to each other and communities,” they said.

“The fact that Ireland, where we pride ourselves on the strength of our communities, has the highest levels of loneliness in the EU, is bitterly disappointing and very concerning.

“This must be a driving force for action. We do not want Ireland to be at the top of the league-table for loneliness again,” they added.