Age Action believes that we should have a choice to age in place which means having the ability to live in one’s home and community safely, independently and comfortably regardless of age, income or ability level.
The vision of Age Action Care and Repair is to enable older people to remain in their own homes, in their own communities, living as independently as possible, through the improvement of their housing conditions and their level of comfort, security and wellbeing.
Why is Care and Repair Needed?
As we grow older basic household tasks can become very difficult to manage. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can become a major problem for an older person who is not in a position to climb on a chair to change the bulb. Other household tasks such as trimming hedges, installing smoke alarms, changing locks, painting and moving furniture cause similar difficulties.
For those older people who may not have anyone locally they can call on, these tasks can become a source of great frustration. Ultimately these problems can make the difference between staying at home and moving to residential care.
How Does Care and Repair Work?
Care & Repair is a free service that helps to keep people living in their own homes in increased safety and comfort. Volunteers carry out DIY work for older people free of charge. We also keep a list of local tradespeople whose contact details can be provided for paid work where jobs are too large for volunteers.
We work with other organisations in the community to “reach the unreachable” – those older people that are housebound and do not engage with society. The Gardai, public health nurses, occupational therapists, GPs, social workers and hospital staff regularly refer clients to us.
What type of services does Care and Repair provide?
DIY Service -
We complete small DIY jobs for older people to help them maintain their homes and their independence. Operating in Cork, Dublin and Galway, Care and Repair does jobs that might be more difficult to complete as we get older people but not big enough to call in a tradesperson. The most common services required by older people are small gardening jobs, minor paint jobs, changing light bulbs, hanging curtains, installing security locks and chains, installing domestic smoke alarms.
Care and Repair prioritises carrying out jobs in the homes of older people who are being discharged or have recently been discharged from hospital. If someone is coming out of hospital, no matter where they live, we would support them to make sure their house is safe. Care and Repair can remove trip hazards, install handrails, replace toilet seats or move a bed downstairs to make sure the home is ready for their return.
Trades Referral Service - The purpose of Age Action’s trade referral service is to provide older people with a list of tradespeople in their local area. Our service aims to prevent older people from being ‘ripped off’ by rogue tradespeople. The tradespeople have agreed to Age Action’s Code of Conduct - see link below.
Care and Repair Trades Referral List Code of Conduct (254 KB)
Age Action maintains the trades referral list in good faith and we are not responsible for work carried out by tradesmen on our list. We recommend that you follow our guidelines when hiring anybody to work in your home.
Who delivers the Care and Repair service?
The Age Action Care and Repair programme is delivered in two ways around Ireland.
1. Age Action staff and volunteers
In Dublin, Cork and Galway cities the Age Action Care and Repair Programme is delivered by Age Action staff and our network of Garda-vetted volunteers.
2. Our community partners around Ireland
In order to make the programme available to older people throughout the country, Age Action works with local community groups. We train them to run the Age Action Care and Repair service in their regions with the support of Age Action staff.
The community group becomes a partner of Age Action. We work together to provide a high quality service to older people using the agreed standards and quality control of the Care and Repair programme nationally.
For a full list of Care and Repair locations see our locations page.
Useful links
Are you interested in finding out more about the Care and Repair programme? The following links should point you in the right direction.