News
Alliance of Age Sector NGO’s launching ‘Telling It Like It Is; Combatting Ageism’ next week!
‘Telling It Like It Is; Combatting Ageism’ will be launched at an event for TDs and Senators in the audio visual (AV) room, Leinster House on Wednesday January 25th 2023, 12.30pm – 1.30pm.
The report, informed by the lived experience of older people across Ireland, also sets out a number of practical steps that can be taken to combat the ageism which has such serious and far-reaching consequences for peoples health, well-being and human rights.
Ageism means that older people are often associated more with the past than the future. Ageism refers to the stereotypes (thinking), prejudice (feeling) and discrimination (action) directed towards others or oneself based on age. Not all of it is deliberate; unconscious bias about older people pervades Irish society.
We believe this report should be studied and acted upon by all policymakers. We are looking for TDs and Senators to support this key policy issue through their engagement with the launch on Wednesday 25th January. We endeavor to gain their support and assistance in the meaningful implementation of key policies relating to older people.
The Alliance of Age Sector represents the collective thinking of seven significant NGOs working in the age sector, uniting their learning from working with the diversity of older people and the issues that older people face.
The seven-member organisations are Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity, ALONE, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Irish Hospice Foundation, The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Third Age.
Keep an eye on our website and social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) on Wednesday 25th January where we will give you full access to the report and keep you updated throughout the launch.
Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality
On the 14th December, the Joint Committee published its final report on Gender Equality after considering the weighted recommendations by the Citizen’s Assembly. The Committee agreed these recommendations should form the foundations for achieving true gender equality in Ireland.
In 2005, the Economic and Social Institute (ERSI) reported that one-third of the population participated in caring activities. This was further broken down by gender; 48% women and 23% men (McGinnity and Russell, 2008).
Although there have been efforts to reduce the gender pay gap, men currently earn approximately one-sixth more than women in Ireland. Inequalities in retirement still remain as women over 65 receive a pension that averages 29% lower than that of men (Eurostat, 2019).
According to Orla O’Connor of the National Women’s Council (NWC):
“This cultural assumption that women are society’s natural carers, coupled with the gender pay gap, also means women predominately fill the gap left by the State’s chronic underfunding of care. We see a Constitutional reform as a way of reframing the value our society puts on care.
Valuing care includes supporting women and men to combine unpaid care with paid employment through better, paid family leave and accessible, affordable, quality childcare.”
Some of the key recommendations include:
- Hold a constitutional referendum in 2023 to insert gender-neutral language, remove text exclusive to women having a ‘life’ and ‘duties’ within the home and ensuring a more inclusive definition of ‘family’
- Commission a ‘cost of care’ review that calculates the financial cost of unpaid care
- Develop and establish a National Planning Unit for Care, to foster better linkages and co-ordination on care policies across all relevant Government Departments
How we understand the nature of care work and the value of care, is pivotal to our society and to women’s equality. If this can be reflected in our constitution, this may also be a positive step towards addressing the increasing care needs of our population throughout our life cycle.
To read the report in full, you can access it HERE.
Overcrowding in hospitals continues to Soar!
After RTE News released shocking footage of the current reality of severe overcrowding in Irish hospitals, Sue Shaw spoke with Treasa Murphy on Kerry Radio this morning.
The unsettling footage showed the corridors of University Hospital Limerick, lined with trolleys filled with patients waiting for a bed. Hallways are wall to wall with trollies that are so closely packed together that staff are finding it difficult to move around between patients. St. Vincent’s Hospital Dublin displayed a similar scene with some patients waiting in chairs, side by side with little to no evidence of patients wearing face masks.
Sue noted that overcrowding in hospitals has become more prevalent and continues to increase each year. As the issue has been evident for quite some time, the Government have been reluctant to invest in step-down facilities and community healthcare. The Irish health system needs to be restructured to facilitate the growing population, in particular the growing number of older persons. With the majority of people waiting on trollies being of an older age, they are at an increased risk of infection while also not receiving adequate care and treatment.
Sue continued to describe how the pandemic highlighted the major disparity in treatment towards older people. She also mentioned a 2017 report published in the Irish Medical Journal 2017. This highlighted the findings of a 10-year study in Beaumont Hospital which showed the unequal treatment of older people, particularly those over 80 years. It highlighted that people over 80 wait twice as long for admission as those in their 20’s. Hospital Wards ‘cherry pick’ the younger patients as they have a shorter stay, leaving older people longer in A&E with all the inherent risks associated with this.
(Image Source Irish Examiner)
We are in no doubt that this is a strain on an everyday basis for hospital staff leading to stress and burnout of people who have given their all during Covid 19 and continue to do so on a daily basis.
It is not good enough for patients or for staff and particularly for those who for a variety of reasons, age being only one of them are vulnerable and need a much better health care system.
The reality is that this is a crisis. We need to invest in developing more accessible community care, increasing the number of healthcare professionals and step-down facilities so people can recuperate outside of hospital. This would provide more opportunity to free up beds for people in a more critical state.
You can listen to full the interview on Kerry Radio HERE.
Happy Christmas from all at the Parliament!
The Board, Executive and staff extend their thanks for your ongoing support throughout 2022, we are only as good as our members, they are the strength of the ISCP.
Can we wish you a very happy Christmas and a joyful New Year.
