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Human Rights and Older People

Introduction

Older people as with every other section of the population have human rights as they are inherent to all human beings. To date there has been a lack of discussion and articulation of the human rights of older people in Ireland and internationally.

But as Ireland and the world ages it takes on an added importance to start this discussion. We need to improve the protection of older person’s rights so that older people can fully enjoy their human rights and so we all can continue to participate in and contribute to society as we grow old.

Please browse this section for more information about human rights, the potential for a new international Convention on the Rights of Older People and Age Action’s work on this.

What are human rights?

Human Rights are rights which belong to every individual simply because we are human beings. It does not matter what our nationality, place of residence, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status is.

Human rights are about human dignity as opposed to simply human needs or charity and embody the basic standards without which people cannot realise their inherent human dignity.

We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination.

What is international human rights law?

International Human Rights Law refers to both European and UN international human rights instruments. It lays down obligations of governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

Respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights.

Protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses.

Fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.

International human rights law is primarily made up of International Human Rights Treaties and once ratified; each State must ensure that the Treaty is compatible with its domestic law. Where a mechanism has failed under domestic law in relation to a human rights abuse, an individual may rely on international law mechanisms to seek redress. Please find more information on international human rights law and mechanisms here (PDF, size 69.3 KB).

A new Convention on the Rights of Older People?

The UN has been discussing, at the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA), the rights of older people and whether a new International Convention on the Rights of Older People should be drafted. The General Assembly at the UN established the OEWGA in 2010 and it has met once a year since then at the UN in New York. There is a current lack of consensus on whether a new Convention should be drafted. The negotiation and drafting process for human rights Conventions at the UN is very lengthy and it is not uncommon to take a decade or longer.

The Irish government’s current position is against a new Convention but they do support and participate in the OEWGA process. We in Age Action are urging them to support a new Convention. We are also calling for the participation of older people themselves in the OEWGA in order to ensure the lived experience of older people is heard and informs what is ultimately included in a Convention.

Click here for more information on the OEWGA.

Why is a Convention required?

There are nine International Human Rights Conventions or treaties. Some are universal, e.g. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights and some have been developed to address groups of people who experience particular discrimination or need particular protection, e.g. the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

However there is no Convention on the rights of older people. In addition older people are not specifically mentioned in the universal treaties and are rarely mentioned in commentary or recommendations made by the Committees established to monitor compliance with the treaties.We in Age Action think this is a clear gap in the current international human rights infrastructure that a new Convention would remedy.

A new Convention would also articulate how human rights specifically apply to older people and what measures Governments must take to comply with it. This is currently absent from the international human rights infrastructure. Articles in a new Convention could deal with, e.g.

  • Protection from elder abuse
  • Support in care settings (in nursing homes, in palliative care settings and in the community)
  • Access to social security or pensions
  • Access to age appropriate healthcare
  • Protection from age discrimination

Age Action’s work on human rights

Our policy team makes submissions under the human rights treaties that Ireland has signed up to. Ireland is reviewed, usually every 4-5 years; by a body of international experts that monitor implementation of each treaty e.g. the human rights committee is the body that monitors implementation of the ICCPR. We sometimes make submissions directly to the UN body that is reviewing Ireland and sometimes to civil society collaborations. See the submissions below.

We think it is important in engage with theses international human rights mechanisms to highlight the gaps in protection for the rights of older people in Ireland under the relevant treaties, and to hold the government to account.

We also do advocacy work in order to build support for a new Convention on the Rights of Older People with politicians and decision makers.  To that end we take part in HelpAge International’s campaign which is calling for a Convention in the Rights of Older People and are members of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People. We are also an accredited NGO with the OEWGA and make submissions under this process.

 

 

Human rights and older persons working group

Age Action is members of the Human Rights and Older Persons Working Group which was set up in 2013. 

The group share a common focus on human rights and older people and focuses both on human rights law and using a human rights based approach. In December 2013, the working group launched a policy paper on Human Rights and Older People. For more information on using a human rights based approach click here

Some of our submissions on human rights and older people:

Note: Links to external websites are included on this page. Age Action is not responsible for the contents of external websites.

Age Action welcomes enhanced fuel allowance for those aged 66+, but regrets state pension lost spending power and lack of supports for those living alone.

Reacting to Budget 2025, which fell on the International Day of Older Persons, Age Action’s policy adviser Nat O’Connor said “An additional €12 for those in receipt of a full state pension will help some older people to cover their weekly costs, but it means that for yet another budget cycle the state has failed to restore the state pension to the value it had in 2020. We would need to see it increased by a further €18 for it to cover as much as it did four years ago, when many people already struggled to meet their needs. Older people now have weaker income security because the government failed to deliver on its promise of benchmarking and indexing the state pension, which every other Western European country already does. Age Action renews its call for benchmarking and indexation, to protect our peace of mind in retirement.”  

He continued, “Age Action has strongly advocated for reform to the fuel allowance given that older people are at particular risk of energy poverty, due to disproportionally occupying Ireland’s most poorly insulated homes, and our bodies retaining less heat as we age. Age Action welcomes the government’s recognition of this reality through granting people aged 66+ access to the fuel allowance under a generous means test, which will go a long way to combatting energy poverty in older age.” 

He continued, “Age Action deeply regrets the government’s failure to adequately address the disadvantages experienced by older people living alone. This is a repeat of last year’s budget, when we raised concern that the state did not recognize them as a particular cohort of our society in need of targeted support. The living alone allowance has now been allowed to stagnate since 2022, when it was only raised by €3, and the fuel allowance for those aged 66+ allows people living alone barely over half the income of a couple, despite the most recent research showing they bear 79% of the same costs. The carer’s allowance means test allows older people living alone only half the income of those living with another. This demonstrates a pattern of disadvantage for older people living alone, who were hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis, being twice as likely to experience material deprivation in 2023 as they were in 2020, before inflation began to spike. They are also nearly three times as likely to experience material deprivation than couples aged 65+. Six in ten older people living alone are women, so failing to support older people living alone also means compounding gender inequality in older age, where there already exists a 35% gender pension gap.” 

“Age Action welcomes the introduction of a universal companion pass, which will come in in September 2025. We have long emphasised the transport inadequacy experienced by many older people in Ireland and how this contributes to social isolation and exclusion. The universal companion pass is a simple improvement that will be greatly appreciated by many older people, in particular those who find travelling alone difficult or impossible.” Dr O’Connor concluded.  

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Age Action is the leading advocacy organisation on ageing and older people in Ireland. Age Action advocates for a society that enables all older people to participate and to live full, independent lives, based on the realisation of rights and equality, recognising the diversity of experience and situation. Our mission is to achieve fundamental change in the lives of all older people by eliminating age discrimination, promoting positive ageing, and securing the right for all of us to comprehensive and high-quality services. 

 

Contact person for reactions, interviews, etc.: Carrie Benn, Head of Communications, 087 9957838 

 

The main points of Age Action’s Budget 2025 submissions are as follows: 

SECTION 1: SOCIAL PROTECTION 

  1. Benchmark and index the state pension so that its rate will always be at least equal to 34% of total average earnings, to be achieved by 2026. Increase the rate of the state pension by at least €20 in Budget 2025. 

  1. Introduce an Energy Guarantee for Older Persons payment to better target cash supports to lower income households and to those in poorly insulated homes, while also insulating them from spikes in inflation.  

  1. Target more support to older people living alone. 

  1. Index all social protection means tests and income thresholds to earnings and inflation, to stop eligibility for supports being effectively reduced by inflation. 

  1. Address anomalies and inequalities in the state pension entitlement of carers, which currently mean that long-term carers of up to 19 years may not receive any credit towards a contributory state pension if they do not also have 10 years of paid contributions.  

  1. Conduct a gender and equality review of the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to calculating the rate of the state pension, and suspend use of TCA until this is concluded. 

  1. End stereotypical household assumptions in welfare eligibility criteria, which currently preclude some older persons from accessing income supports due to a household composition other than living alone or living as a couple. 

  1. Halt the option of a deferred state pension to 70 until multiple anomalies and inequities that are caused by the current scheme rules have been addressed. 

  1. Implement other social protection proposals, as outlined in Section 9. 

 

SECTION 2: REST OF GOVERNMENT 

  1. [PER] Appoint a Commissioner for Ageing and Older Persons, with a supporting legal framework and an independent budget, to ensure we are all treated fairly and with dignity as we age. [€2.5 million] 

  1. [ETE] Abolish the prevalent ageist practice of mandatory retirement, so that we all have the option to remain in or re-enter employment beyond age 65, as a step towards eliminating legally permitted age discrimination. [revenue raising, no estimate available] 

  1. [Finance/PER] Develop a comprehensive, all-of-government national ageing strategy, with a requirement for implementation plans in every relevant state agency, to eradicate ageism and to ensure that we prepare sufficiently for the demographic transition. [<€1 million] 

  1. [Health] Deliver on the pledge of a strong, fully universal and accessible healthcare system that is tax-funded and free-of-charge at the point of use. [€567 million] 

  1. [Finance/PER, and FHERIS re digital skills] Prohibit ‘digital only’ services, fund digital skills training and adequately resource traditional alternatives such as desk and telephone services, as a step towards implementing a rights-based approach to accessing publicly funded services. [€10 million] 

  1. [Health/CEDIY] Introduce a care strategy using a human rights-based approach to improve, expand, and harmonize our care options. [<€1 million] 

  1. [HLGH/Transport] Implement policies to ensure that all of us can age in place in our homes and communities, in particular, supports and protections for older persons renting, and the enforcement of universal design principles for all new builds. [€45 million] 

  1. [Foreign Affairs] Support the introduction of a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons to address the gaps in the existing human rights system by clarifying states’ human rights obligations and responsibilities towards older people. [<€1 million] 

  1. [Finance, and Taoiseach re CSO] Adopt the use of an Employment Based Dependency Ratio. [<€1 million] 

  1. [Finance] Increase the tax exemption thresholds for people aged 65+ to €22,320 for an individual and €44,640 for a couple. [revenue neutral] 

  1. [Finance] Reduce the extent to which high earners can avail of pension tax breaks and tax-free lump sums on retirement. [revenue raised: €500 million] 

  1. [Finance/Social Protection] Ensure that all departments update means tests and income thresholds in line with inflation and changes to social protection rates. [revenue neutral] 

  1. [Foreign Affairs] Increase official development aid to 0.7% GNI, including a focus on ageing. [€300 million] 

  1. [DRCD] Increase funding for SSNO and CVP grants by 25%. [€1.8 million] 

 

Age Action’s pre-budget submissions can be found here: https://www.ageaction.ie/how-we-can-help/campaigning-policy/age-action-budget-submissions-government