News

(Thursday 21 July 2022) 

Age Action welcomes the high-level intervention today by the Taoiseach calling for AIB to reconsider and reflect on its announcement that 70 branches will become “cashless”.

Dr Nat O’Connor, Senior Public Affairs and Policy Specialist at Age Action said “Age Action has been contacted by many older persons who are dismayed that they will lose access to cash services in their local area. We know that many people manage their income through cash, literally putting aside amounts of money to cover different expenses.  For the many people not using the internet, it is just not possible to keep track of cashless transactions and there is a risk of getting into debt that people just can’t afford when living on a modest State Pension. There is also a genuine risk of financial elder abuse for those people who are not online if they are forced to seek help to manage their financial affairs.”

(15 June 2022)  On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Age Action is reiterating the call for the establishment of a Commissioner for Ageing and Older Persons, with a supporting legal framework, that will ensure that we are all treated with respect and on an equal basis with the rest of the population in older age.

3,871 notifications of abuse for persons aged over 65 was reported in the HSE’s National Safeguarding Report 2021. Immediate family members are identified as the person of concern in reported cases of abuse of people over the age of 65.

(10 May 2022) Age Action will address the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Planning: on the Provision of housing for older people, including Fair Deal on 10 May, where they will advocate for a package of safeguarding measures to be put in place to protect older people living in nursing homes as well as reforms to allow 100% of rental income on the person's primary residence to be disregarded by the HSE under the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Fair Deal).

(31 March 2022) Age Action is calling on the Government to reintroduce the Energy Guarantee for Older Persons, which would provide a minimum quantity of energy for all older persons, as part of a comprehensive new national energy poverty strategy. The call comes as the latest price increases of 23.4% for electricity and 24.8% for gas were announced by Electric Ireland.