Press Release

Age Action had the busiest year in its 21 year history in 2013, providing direct support for thousands of older people as the Government’s austerity measures continued to hit the sickest and poorest, the charity’s annual meeting was told in Dublin today.

Age Action has urged the general public to check on older neighbours, especially those living alone, during the current warm weather, with Met Eireann forecasting that temperatures could hit 27 or 28 degrees Celsius today.

Age Action is urging the general public to play a greater role to help  tackle  the silent scourge of elder abuse in Ireland by becoming aware of the warning signs of abuse and knowing what to do if they suspect an older neighbour or friend is being abused.

Age Action has called on the Government to ensure that its review of discretionary medical cards addresses the impact which the loss of cards has had on older people.

Google and Age Action are once again joining forces in the search to find Ireland’s top Silver Surfers. The Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, today launched the 2014 Google Silver Surfer Awards with Age Action at the Soda Lab in Google’s EMEA Headquarters in Dublin.

Age Action has warned the Government that its plans to increase the rate of Universal Social Charge (USC) for pensioners and medical card holders from 4% to 7% from  January would cause untold hardship among a section of society which is already struggling to make ends meet.

Age Action has given a guarded welcome to the Government’s plans for water charges and measures to protect older people, agreed at today’s Cabinet meeting. But it noted that the full impact of the charges on older people will not be known until all details of the tariff package have been decided.

Age Action is concerned that a HIQA report published today shows that  HIQA received 4,246 notifications of serious injury to nursing home residents during 2013.  In addition there were 373 notifications of alleged, suspected or confirmed abuse.

A new exhibition of images by photographer Ann Henrick, with words by the late Maeve Binchy, aims to challenge the public’s perception of what it is like to grow older in Ireland.

A doubling of the level of carbon tax on solid fuels from tomorrow  (May 1) will create added hardship for older people who are already struggling to heat their homes to a safe level, Age Action has warned.