We at Irish Senior Citizens Parliament are proud to be a member of the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs (the Alliance), alongside six NGOs: Alone, Age & Opportunity, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Irish Hospice Foundation, Active Retirement Ireland, and Third Age. The Alliance represents our collective thinking in the age sector, uniting our learning from working with the diversity of older people and the issues that they face.
Covid-19 has been incredibly difficult for everyone. However, older people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, suffering from loneliness, isolation, and fear. The Alliance conducted a report into the experiences of older people during the pandemic, engaging with older people and getting their insights into how the year affected them.
“Telling it like it is” is the outcome of this dialogue. Our “Telling it like it is” document reports directly on those experiences, not shying away from the difficulties experienced. Among the key findings we found:
The Document calls for meaningful and direct engagement with older people on the issues they faced during Covid-19 and on the challenges facing them going forward. Older people have much to offer society and must be not be isolated from policy conversations concerning them. Ensuring that we have agency in decision making as we age, and actively countering ageism in policy making must be priorities for Government.
To read the whole document, click this link: Telling It Like It Is