Pensioners protest - Age is no barrier to active anger

The sight of senior citizens protesting outside the gates of the Dáil yesterday was a stark warning to the Coalition that age is no barrier to active anger and that, once riled, older people have a strident and far-reaching voice.

While the numbers gathered were in the low thousands, the rally was reminiscent of the fallout from the budget brought in by the late Brian Lenihan in Oct 2008. Travelling from all corners of Ireland, 15,000 older people protested outside the Dáil in response to his decision to withdraw free primary medical care and prescription medicines for the over-70s.

The unprecedented protest, organised by the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, attracted widespread public support across generations and eventually forced the then government to do a U-turn. While the principle of universal access was lost, 95% of people over the age of 70 retained their entitlements.