One-in-nine elderly lonely and isolated

ONE-IN-NINE older Irish people are severely isolated from their communities and vulnerable to extreme loneliness, a study has revealed.

The group, which numbers about 50,000, is also more likely to be among the country’s oldest citizens, to have the poorest health and the lowest levels of income, according to research commissioned by the National Council on Ageing and Older People.

The council yesterday called for a range of measures to tackle the problem, including the development of volunteer bureaus within local communities to help support older people in their own localities.

The council stressed the need for State funding for premises, transport and coordination, and called on the Government to intervene to cut public liability insurance, which it said was preventing community groups from providing services.

The study was based on interviews with 683 people aged 65 to 99, half of whom were married and the remainder widowed, divorced, separated or single.

It found almost three-quarters of older people had good family and community contacts and did not consider themselves at all isolated or lonely.

But it also took into account different types of loneliness, which produced more diverse results.

Just 8% of interviewees said they suffered some form of family loneliness through absence of contact with family members.

Social loneliness from insufficient interaction with neighbours, friends and the wider community was experienced by 12%. More than 49%, however, reported moderate or acute feelings of romantic loneliness for the want of a partner.

Certain factors were identified as making people more prone to loneliness and isolation. Educational disadvantage, low income, poor health or lack of mobility were all key features.

The most severely affected were also more likely to be women, to be single or widowed, to live in rented accommodation or reside with relatives in rural areas.

Lack of transport was also a major problem.

The researchers also found common mechanisms for coping with loneliness, with a heavy reliance on television and radio, staying in bed longer, religious faith and caring for pets.

Council member and former president of the Senior Citizens Parliament Sylvia Meehan said the plight of the lonely elderly person was symptomatic of a society which had poor regard for ageing.

“We have come through a crisis in relation to the nursing home charges which should tell us quicker than anything that older people do not have a good profile in this country. It would not happen to any other group in the country,” she said.

Council chairperson and Dublin city councillor Eibhlin Byrne backed the call for greater funding but warned programmes could not replace community.

“The impersonal hand of Government is no substitute for the personal hand of family and friends.”