‘Grey Panthers’ should challenge all candidates

IN the forthcoming general election, or in any election, people should vote for politicians who they believe will best represent their interests.

In Ireland, one of the largest blocks of voters should be the over-50s who are consistently discriminated against in a variety of ways.

There are 600,000 over-50s eligible to vote — that’s more than 10% of the electorate. We should be voting as a group, and only for those politicians who will genuinely champion the cause of older people.

We are a very significant percentage of the electorate, especially since young people are too disillusioned to vote. Just look at the Grey Panther movement in the US and the power it wields.

In most countries, including our own, older people used to be respected and looked up to, but now — in Ireland at least — they are ‘kicked to the kerb’ in our increasingly corrupt and greedy society. We should not be afraid to ask Dáil candidates pertinent questions such as “what is the policy of your party with regard to the welfare of senior citizens?”

By way of contrast we should also ask them how many all-expenses-paid ‘fact-finding’ junkets they undertook in the past year and what they would consider an adequate salary, if elected?

Terry O’Neill

29 Haven Hill

Summercove

Kinsale

Co Cork