Ageism in Ireland - We’ll all get the old age we deserve

ONE of the more popular car stickers of recent years was the one that carried a threat: “Be nice to your children, remember they’ll choose your nursing home.”

It was based on a combination of reality, or likelihood at the very least, and the fear every one of us has about losing control over our lives because of incapacity brought about by illness, poverty or the irreversible ravages of time.

Otherwise brave and confident people can be undone by the thought of leaving their homes and being put at the mercy of anonymous staff made indifferent by long hours and the minimum wage.