Age Action to mobilise ‘grey vote’

The head of Age Action has called on the organisation’s members to ensure the needs of older people are firmly on the agenda in the next general election.

CEO Eamon Timmins was speaking yesterday to hundreds of Age Action’s supporters at their annual meeting in Croke Park.

“The cuts imposed in successive austerity budgets have cost many older people almost €14 a week,” said Mr Timmins. “Energy and medical prices have continued to rise, putting greater pressure on older people’s limited incomes.

“Older people spent a lifetime building this country. They shouldered their share of the austerity burden. As the economy returns to growth, they have a legitimate expectation that the sacrifices they made will be acknowledged.

“One of the few political certainties is that there will be a general election within the next 12 months. I would urge you to question those who come seeking your vote, to test them and to judge them on whether they will hold to their commitments to older people.

“Will they be a friend to older people in the next Dáil? Will they campaign for an increase in the State Pension which has stagnated since 2009?

Will they push the new government to implement the National Positive Ageing Strategy, to put in place the supports that will enable older people to live at home?

“Ireland can be the best country in the world in which to grow old, but only if we ensure that the needs of older people, and their families, are at the forefront of the mind of anyone seeking election next year.”

Age Action’s Annual Report for 2014 also revealed the charity now has more than 4,300 volunteers.

Addressing the AGM, Emily Logan, chief commissioner at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, said she shared many of Age Action’s concerns around the challenges faced by older people.

She particularly highlighted discrimination in access to employment and the need for meaningful protection from elder abuse. She also said older people should be empowered to live in their own homes through quality, well-resourced, community care that evolves to meet their needs.

Her view was echoed yesterday by Alone, the charity that provides services for older people in need which asserted that one third of older people in nursing homes could live at home if they were supported to do so.

Launching its Home First Campaign for this year, Alone said the percentage of our older population in nursing home care is already 35% greater than the EU average. The average stay in Irish nursing homes is 1.6 years longer than our British neighbours.

Alone CEO Sean Moynihan said the figures proved that, as a nation, Ireland is pushing older people into nursing homes ahead of their time.

“We are calling on the Government to reallocate some of the Fair Deal funds so that older people can source care in their homes, ensuring that nursing home care is a last resort rather than their only choice,” said Mr Moynihan.