Voluntary organisations working with older people said the death of an elderly woman, who was not discovered for almost two weeks following a fall, is not an untypical incident.
Three leading voluntary organisations said that more Government funding was vital to meet the needs of a rising population of older people in Ireland.
Age Action, Alone and Friends of the Elderly also stressed that voluntary organisations were overstretched and many people in Ireland were not receiving the social support they deserve.
"It's every old person's nightmare to have a fall and not have any support or way of getting help. It's an appalling end to a life," Robin Webster, chief executive of Age Action, said.
"We have the lowest expenditure in Europe for elderly people. All the talk in Ireland is of economic infrastructure but we don't have the social infrastructure to care for the elderly," he added.
Mr Webster was reacting to the death of Mary O'Reilly (77), who fell at home but who was not discovered until nearly two weeks later by a neighbour.
Ms O'Reilly had survived on holy water and biscuits but died 17 days after she was admitted to Dublin's St James's Hospital from complications of the injury.
"She is just one in a number of people who leak through the system," Mr Webster said. "The Government need to invest hugely in community care services such as social workers, nurses and occupational therapists. People want to stay at home and their needs must be provided for."
Niamh Macken, co-ordinator with Friends of the Elderly, said the voluntary sector caring for the elderly currently "picks up the slack" where the Government's social care policy for the elderly ends.
"Things like this happen far too often and the demand for our services is always increasing. One of our concerns is that young people don't have the time anymore to look after their elderly parents."
Ms Macken added that it was vital that all elderly people at risk carried personal alarms around their necks in case of emergencies. She said that these were available from the Security for the Elderly organisation.
Pat Lane, administrator with Alone, said that as well as Government action, people around the country must be more vigilant in checking in on their elderly neighbours. "Don't assume everything is okay when you haven't seen [someone] for a while. Always call in if you can. Otherwise, call us and tell us. We've phoned people who tell us that it's the first human voice they've heard in two weeks. We need to all become better neighbours."