The Care & Repair Programme was established to carry out “odd jobs” for  older people and to provide a befriending service. The programme is currently based in Dublin, Galway and Cork, and on a franchise basis in other locations around the country. Care & Repair is funded by Irish Life Plc.

The main aim of the Programme is to assist older people to carry out necessary small repairs and improvements to their homes, enabling them to live independently in the community in increased comfort and safety.

In order to meet the needs of older people, Care and Repair provides a range of practical repair and care services including:

• Small repairs service
• Home Visiting/Befriending Service
• Daily Contact Service
• Trades Referral Service
• Quote Check Service
• Working with other local voluntary groups in establishing a Care & Repair Service

ABOUT CARE & REPAIR

1. The Repair Service uses a pool of volunteers and handypersons to carry out small repairs and to complete minor home tasks for older people. Volunteers in effect provide a willing pair of helping hands to do a variety of small tasks that an older person may find difficult to do. The most common services required by older people are:

• Minor gardening (e.g. mowing lawns)
• Minor home decorating (e.g. interior painting)
• Installing handrails
• Tacking down carpets
• Changing plugs, fuses and light bulbs
• Installing security locks and chains
• Hanging curtains
• Installing domestic smoke alarms.

A “job” is expected to take no longer than an hour, though many small tasks may be undertaken during the same visit. The service is free of charge; the client only pays for the cost of materials used. However, donations are always welcome.

2. The Care Service is a home visiting or befriending service using volunteers to provide social contact to older people who are at risk of isolation in their own homes.

3. The Trades Referral Service is an option whereby a register of reliable and honest tradespersons is maintained. Our pool of volunteers and handypersons is not intended to replace the need for specialist skilled tradespersons but often people do not know how to go about getting reliable tradespeople. If the required job is beyond the scope of Care and Repair, we will endeavour to supply the names of trustworthy tradespeople from our register.

4. The QuoteCheck Service is a service whereby an experienced volunteer visits the older person’s home, assesses a large job and gives an informed opinion about quotations received by the client from professional tradespersons. QuoteCheck gives the older person peace of mind and the assurance that the prices being quoted do not constitute a “rip off”.

5. The DailyContact Service is a daily phone call made to the client at a pre-arranged time by a volunteer. The purpose of the call is to make sure that the client is in good spirits and not in need of urgent support (especially medical attention).

6. Volunteers are of all ages and both genders. Some offer specialist skills (e.g. electrical or joinery expertise) while others are simply interested in DIY generally. All volunteers are vetted and carry official Age Action Ireland identification cards. We are particularly interested in attracting retired persons as volunteers.