Advocacy

Earlier this week the HSE reported that almost 8,000 cases of alleged adult abuse were reported in 2016. But only six per cent of these cases were reported by the alleged victim or a family member. Today, on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we must face the reality that we're failing to speak out about elder abuse in Ireland.

EU legislation means Irish patients can go anywhere in the EU for medical treatment – and the HSE must foot the bill.

I finished working for Age Action last month. My 10 years with the charity have been among the most rewarding and inspiring periods of my working life. The experiences I have had with Age Action have profoundly shaped me.  

The Citizens’ Assembly is inviting members of the public, representative groups and citizen organisations to make submissions on the second topic the Assembly will consider, ‘The Challenges and Opportunities of an Ageing Population’. 

If you worked in Britain you might be entitled to a British pension in your retirement. Gerry explains how the system works.

Have you ever heard of the Succession Act 1965, asks Dr Kathryn O’Sullivan of the University of Limerick’s School of Law.  

The importance of mental health care for the elderly has been recognised in recent years. In the 2006 census, people aged 65+ made up 11 per cent of the population – by 2041 this will have increased to 22 per cent. 

Gerry provides some advice about how to be safe at home and get help in an emergency in his latest blog.

"I was so shocked, angry and annoyed when I first heard the amount I was to be awarded. It brought back the anger I felt in 1972 when I had to leave my job. I believe I am being penalised for caring for my children."

It’s hard to stomach that at the start of the 21st Century, in a relatively prosperous economy with a climate like ours, between 1,500 and 2,000 people die annually from cold-related illness. Or, to put that another way, they die because they cannot afford to heat their homes.