Letters to the Editor: The time is right to combat ageism
'Core rights do not stop at age 65'.
On April 3, amid the chaos of the Trump tariffs, a historic resolution was passed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
It was decided to establish an intergovernmental working group of states to begin drafting a long-overdue treaty on the rights of older persons.
Over 40 states co-sponsored the resolution including 10 EU states.
Sadly, Ireland was not among them.
Contrary to popular misconception, this treaty-drafting process is not a reaction to the growing numbers of older persons.
Still less is it due to the rising cost of old age.
Instead, it is a reminder that, regardless of years, older persons are persons too, and have the full range of hopes, expectations, and rights in life.
Core rights do not stop at age 65.
The UN resolution calls on the intergovernmental process to encourage and support civil society organisations of older person to participate and make their voices heard.
Important topics are likely to be voice, choice, and control of services and supports, autonomy and legal capacity, community engagement, and independent living.
Only one political party, to its credit, pledged support for the drafting of a treaty on the rights of older persons in the run-up to our national election in November last year (Sinn Féin).
It is earnestly hoped that the Government and all political parties, as well as organisations of older persons, will now support this process and get involved.
The time is right to combat ageism.
We are writing on behalf of WHO technical advisory group on alcohol labelling (TAG-AL) and note with concern recent comments by a senior Government minister that Ireland’s historic legislative measure, contained within the 2018 Public Health Alcohol Act, which mandates that all alcohol products sold domestically from May 2026 must bear alcohol health warnings, may, in light of possible economic uncertainty, be reviewed and further delayed.
It is our view that this action would represent a step back, as labelling can be considered an integral part of alcohol policy aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm.
When introducing this measure, Ireland was considered as a public health champion by stakeholders across the world for introducing the groundbreaking labelling legislation.
The WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022-2030, proposes that member states “ensure appropriate consumer protection measures through development and implementation of labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages that display essential information for health protection”.
This can involve providing information on packaging about alcohol content, ingredients, nutritional information and health warnings.
Our work over the recent years situates health warning labels within the broader context of alcohol policy, highlighting their roles in raising risk awareness, increasing support for other alcohol policies, and decreasing product appeal.
The impact of these warnings will, however, depend on their content and design.
The research summarised within the recent WHO/Europe report, ‘Alcohol health warning labels: a public health perspective for Europe’, highlights that awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer among Europeans needs to be improved, and that it could be significantly enhanced by the use of a health warning giving information about alcohol as a cause of cancer.
The vast preponderance of our teenagers probably know a lot more about AI in schools than adults do.
The reality is that students are using AI whether teachers are aware of it or not.
I am hearing teachers saying that they are at a loss as to what they should do when it comes to AI.
It’s my contention that it’s impossible for them to approach this whole, vast area of AI if they don’t have the guidelines allied to mandatory training in this complex area.
I found it somewhat incredulous to glean that the State Examinations Commission is to look at AI to correct exams, which I think is off the wall.
That old idiom of putting the cart before the horse is, to my mind, applicable to this crazy notion.
I would suggest that the State Examinations Commission exhibits more energy into delineating what the guidelines are in relation to AI, along with organising the proper training for teachers in this subject.
There is a sickening rhythm to Irish scandals. The exposé. The hand-wringing. The solemn promises of reform.
And then, with depressing predictability, the great forgetting.
The Shannon Review’s revelations about St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI) should have shattered this cycle.
Here was an organisation that styled itself as a pillar of civic virtue, while behind closed doors it harboured abusers, silenced whistleblowers, and prioritised its own reputation over the safety of children.
The report laid bare not just institutional failure, but something more sinister: A culture that enabled harm to flourish under the cover of respectability.
And how did Ireland respond? With a pantomime of concern so transparent it would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so dire.
Survivors, those brave enough to endure the glare of public scrutiny, staged a protest outside SJAI’s headquarters.
They stood in the rain, holding signs with trembling hands, reliving their trauma in the hope that someone, anyone, in power would truly listen.
What they got instead was a parade of political opportunists.
Politicians descended for their five-minute photo ops, their expressions carefully arranged into masks of concern.
They clasped survivors’ hands just long enough for their social media teams to snap the perfect shot — proof, they hoped, that they cared.
Then they vanished, retreating to their offices to draft empty statements about “justice” and “accountability”, words they clearly understood only as abstract concepts.
Most of those performative allies haven’t been re-elected — a small mercy.
Others now languish in the Seanad, conveniently out of reach, ignoring the phonecalls of survivors they once promised to help.
Their silence speaks volumes.
Meanwhile, St John Ambulance continues to operate with impunity, still entrusted with the care of young volunteers, still enjoying public funding, still shielded by the same deference that has protected abusive institutions in this country for generations.
The Charities Regulator remains a paper tiger, the Government’s “action plan” is a masterclass in box-ticking, and the media has long since moved on to fresher outrage.
The survivors? They’re still waiting. For justice. For acknowledgement. For even a fraction of the energy this country expends on pretending to care.
We like to tell ourselves we’ve changed. That the Ireland of hidden abuses and institutional cover-ups is gone.
But the truth is written in our inaction.
The same forces that shielded the Church, that turned a blind eye to the mother and baby homes, that allowed industrial schools to flourish, simply transferred their allegiance to Leinster House, where real accountability is always sacrificed at the altar of political convenience.
There will be another scandal. There’s always another scandal. And when it comes, we’ll clutch our pearls and demand to know how this could happen.
The answer is simple — because our politicians of all parties, of all genders, keep allowing it.
Because performative concern costs nothing, but real action might cost votes.
Because in Ireland, it’s always easier to commission a report than to act on its findings.
We know this dance by now. The question is when will we finally refuse to take another step?
Just imagine our Government proactively sorting out the lack of housing.
By, for instance, actually repurposing the empty buildings owned by Government agencies such as the OPW and HSE.
By updating and modernising basic water treatment facilities so houses can actually be built in towns such as Dunmanway, Co Cork.
By refitting disused convents to make basic, not luxury, apartments.
By redeveloping abandoned hotels for basic apartments.
By filling ghost estates with people desperate for a home here in Ireland, not having to emigrate to find a home.
By actually allowing people to build a tiny home on their parents’ land.
But although the numbers of homeless have been steadily and consistently growing for the last 10 years, nothing seems to be done.
It is 2025, it is time for the Government to act rapidly, not just talk.
Imagine what would change if they did.
Instead of the article I’m responding to about Ireland not building anywhere near enough houses, we could be reading about what is actually being done to eliminate homelessness.
