Reacting to the first weeks of the 2024 general election campaign, Age Action is asking all political parties and candidates to make clear what they will do to meet the needs and concerns of older people, to uphold the rights and equality of all of us as we age, and to combat ageism.
Dr Nat O’Connor, senior policy adviser, said: “In this general election, nearly one in three voters will be aged 60 or older, yet older people are telling Age Action that they haven’t heard meaningful discussion of policies addressing their concerns.”
Older people have told us that ‘we do not think the politicians take sufficient notice of older people’ and that ‘we’re not respected’.
Older people have told Age Action about the difficulty of making ends meet on the state pension, their frustration of trying to access public services, banking or utilities without constantly being forced to go online, as well as growing anxieties around housing, healthcare, and transport.
“Today, there are over one million people aged 60 or older, including 185,000 aged 80 or older. In just twenty years from now, there will be nearly twice as many older people, including many more in advanced older age who will need the state to provide health and social care services, as well as adequate housing and transport systems. None of the parties seem to be planning long-term to meet this eventuality, which is a major concern for older voters, and should be for all of us as we age.”
“Age Action is calling on all parties to take a new approach to ageing policy, based on the rights of older people and reflecting their diversity and diverse needs. Political parties need to demonstrate that they take older people seriously and that they are capable of meeting the changing needs of our ageing population.” Dr O’Connor concluded.
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Note to Editors
Age Action is the leading advocacy organisation on ageing and older people in Ireland.
Age Action’s ten asks for the general election are:
- 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.
- Pass a law to benchmark and index the state pension so that its rate will always be at least equal to 34% of total average earnings to preserve its status as the bedrock of income in older age.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Implement an Energy Guarantee for Older Persons payment, targeting those in poorly insulated homes as well as those on lower incomes, as a tangible example of climate justice.
- 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.
- Introduce a care strategy using a human rights-based approach to improve, expand, and harmonize our care options.
- Implement policies to ensure that all of us can age in place in our homes and communities, in particular, support and protections for older persons renting, and the enforcement of universal design principles for all new builds.
- 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.
