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WE ARE HIRING
We are recruiting: Membership & Development Officer. A pivotal role in achieving the objective of the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament to support & strengthen the membership structures with particular emphasis on engaging the membership base & developing their voice.
You are required to complete the Application Form and send it with a Cover Letter outlining how you meet the criteria for this position. Tell us the reason you are interested in this position and what you would offer the ISCP.
Please email info@seniors.ie for further information.
THE RIGHT TO BE INCLUDED
The representatives on the Collective Network of the ISCP have been working hard on your behalf. We believe there is a need to create greater awareness of the need to have The Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2021 progressed. We have written to all TD’s asking them to support the next stage of the proposed Bill.
We are asking you, our members to:
- Chat to your family and friends about this issue and how it affects you now and how it will affect them in the future
- Talk to your retired colleagues and co-workers
- Talk to your TD and any candidate that has declared in advance of the general election.
- Highlight the risk and in some cases the pension poverty some retirees are experiencing.
While we are unclear as to the actual date of the general election, we are sure that there will be many demands on the Government parties on a range of issues. We need to move promptly to ensure the VOICE OF OLDER PEOPLE IS HEARD.
We need you to talk to your TD, ask if have they received the letter from the ISCP and if their party can work with us to ensure a voice for retired workers in relation to their occupational pension. They need to hear the voice of their constituents on how important this proposed BILL is. It will ensure older people stay out of poverty and have their income protected as was promised to them when they signed up for their occupational pension for their retirement.
The Voice of Older People in the General Election
We are all gearing up now towards a general election and within the ISCP we believe all older people need to send a strong message to our politicians and hopeful candidates. There is a strong need to listen to and hear the voice of older people. We all need to ensure this voice is incorporated into policy that impacts on ageing well.
Older people are active and fully engaged within Irish society although the reality of an ageing demographic is often referred to a ‘a burden on the state’. This is more often than not referring to the financial costs of state pension, housing and the impact of health-related costs. This gives no acknowledgement to the reality of volunteering older people undertake within our communities. This includes an ongoing regular daily/weekly commitment of hours to much needed services. It does not recognise the unpaid minding of much-loved grandchildren to allow our families to afford mortgages and or rent costs. It does not acknowledge the returned ‘child’ to the family home and his/her family as they cannot afford rents while saving for a house or worse, cannot get a mortgage.
We hear all too often of the cost of the State Pension but never the reality of how quickly that money recirculates back into the local community. The state pension covers our costs of living, so by & large, all money received goes straight back out:
Heating, electricity, car tax and insurance and shopping on both food and clothes. The state pension is redistributed back into the local and national economy. We also need to bear in mind that all of the above carry a ‘tax at source’ return for the government. While the State Pension is not taxed ALL of the above items are.
We are asking you to be clear when politicians knock at your door or shake hands with you in the shopping areas in your town, that you use that time to have the voice of older people heard.
We are asking you to go visit your local TD in his clinic and talk to them about the needs of older people BUT also to remind them of the contributions we make to society. This contribution is based on a lifetime ethos of working and contributing to society and does not change as we get older.
Are the Backbencher TDs trying to mislead older voters?
€20 increase in the pension in Budget 2024/25, pushed by backbench TDs to win over older voters before the upcoming General Election (Irish Independent 31st July 2024)
It was interesting to read this article in the Irish Independent last week as we approach the ‘kite flying’ in the run up to the Budget and indeed a possible election. The ISCP was struck by the lack of awareness among some TD’s and indeed the Government itself as to the increase that will be required to take those living on the state pension above the poverty line. The CSO SILC 2023 show 13.1% of the population, were at risk of poverty. In other words, they had an income that was less than 60% of the median disposable income, that is €15,754 per annum or €301.91 per week. By age group, the largest year on year change in the at risk of poverty rate was in persons aged 65 or over, up from 11.9% in 2021 to 19.0% in 2022. By household composition, the at risk of poverty rate was highest in one adult households with one adult 65 years and over at 33.6%.
The comments by the backbenchers relating to ‘winning over’ older voters are what has led us to the ad hoc approach to pension provision and indeed to how older people are viewed. Offering a ‘fiver’ in some budgets reflects a lack of understanding of the need for a secure and consistent income for older people. These beliefs and views among politicians greatly influence how policies are developed and how they appear in government actions and decisions.
The state pension helps many people avoid poverty and is important for ensuring our dignity and independence as we grow older. However, many of our members express concerns about possibly losing some of these benefits or having them reduced, which causes a lot of stress and takes away the feeling of security that we should have in our later years. These voices need to be heard as part of the policy debate on secure income and to encourage more emphasis on human dignity and human rights in every age. Speaking about income adequacy, ISCP refer to a level of income that enables people to have full participation and be fully included in society.
Advocacy amplifies the voice of the most vulnerable, who are often ignored, and provides evidence to decision-makers to change the way they act. (EAPN)
We need to remind the backbenchers of this Government and indeed all politicians who are concerned as to winning over the older voter that 60+ population is expected to reach 20 per cent of the global population by 2030, whereas in the EU the 50-plussers already represent more than 30% of the population.
We also need to remind them that it was their policy that committed to delivering a pension income linked to 34% of the average income and anything less than a €27.50 adjustment in core social welfare rates will be a real term cut (EAPN 2024)
