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Wexford Division Committee
The following are the officers and members of the Co. Wexford Division of the ISCP:
Chairperson: Sean Kinsella
Vice Chairperson: Pat Morgan
Secretary: Bridget Neville
Treasurer/PRO: Betty Breen
Committee Members:
Dwight & Claire Moore, Lillian McKenna, Bebe Kehoe Larry Doyle, Susan Malcolm, Kelly Dundavan, Rita Gerard & Mary Martin.
Is Dan O’Brien for Real?
Government will have to cut old-age pension as reported in the Irish Times today makes for a great headline
said Máiréad Hayes CEO of the Irish Senior Citizens However it should be remembered that for the majority of Older People this is their sole income. It is what keeps them alive and in some cases above the poverty line.
Mr O’Brien makes what appear to be very rational arguments on the face of it. However what he ignores is, that far from being better off, Senior Citizens have seen real cuts to their income by the withdrawal of the Additional Payment at Christmas, increased costs arising from carbon tax, loss of dental and optical benefit, the introduction of prescription charges, high fuel charges, reported reductions in transport services and planned cuts in Home Help Services to name but a few.
There was a commitment in the programme for government to a State Pension of €300 by 2012 and at the current rate of €230 we are still a long way off achieving that figure.”
Older People are sharing the burden in this economic downturn as they have done through previous downturns. There are still over 17% of Older People who are at risk of poverty and the State Pension as a percentage of average earnings is one of the lowest in the EU.
Older Lifelong Learners bring Mental Capital to Society
Ena O’Mahoney, Vice-President of the Irish Senior Citizen’s Parliament spoke yesterday at the seminar, ‘Enriching the College Community with Older Lifelong Learners’ in Trinity College. She told her audience of the wealth of ‘mental capital’ accrued by older people in this country and how, if utilised, it could benefit the whole of society.
The seminar highlighted the fact that education is a lifelong activity and showed that older learners attending college are as committed to learning as their younger colleagues
Ms O’Mahoney particularly stressed the role that lifelong learning can play in combating social exclusion and loneliness, pointing out that for those who pursued further education as older students:
There is the chance to enjoy a new sense of community with people who share their interests and passions, providing opportunities for socialising and progression routes to whole new worlds of experience, effectively counteracting what can be a period in life when social contacts decline.
The ISCP warmly welcomes this initiative taken by Trinity College.
The Parliament also welcomes the presence of Minister for State, Seán Haugheyat the seminar as a demonstration of the government’s support to the commitments made in the Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016, to maximise adult and community educational opportunities for older people. In particular the Parliament agreed with his statement that ‘Education should also be a means of ensuring greater social contact, exchange of ideas and mutual respect between the generations.’
TCD Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer Prof Patrick Prendergast; Vice President of Irish Senior Citizens Parliament Ena O’Mahoney; Age Action Ireland representative Senator David Norris; Psychology Student Philip Martin Murray; Minister of State with Responsibility for Lifelong Learning Sean Haughey; Lecturer in Adult Nursing Jacinta Kelly and event organiser Jennifer Ryan.
Dental Scheme Cutback – Older People MUST not be made to suffer
The latest circular from the HSE limiting the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) will have a dramatic impact on Older People
Ms Hayes CEO of the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament said today.
As well as the detrimental health and welfare aspects, it could result in costs to pensioners of between €230 and €400 per year according to figures from the Irish Dental Association.
The DTSS provides medical card holders with basic dental treatment and ensures that medical card holders receive pain relief, preventative treatment, denture services and emergency care. Budget 2010 limited DTSS expenditure to €63million at a time of rising demand. The HSE’s April circular could mean that 1.6 million medical card holders may be denied routine treatments such as fillings and extractions.
The Department of Health’s own figures show that people over 65 are by far the biggest users of the DTSS and will therefore be the hardest hit by this latest cutback. Almost €12 million (25.5%) of total payments for treatments was for those aged 65 or over; even though only 14% of this age group used the DTSS in 2003 (the latest figures publicly available).
The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament welcomes the trend in the general population of better and increased teeth retention for Older People, but they are still the age cohort with the most missing teeth and therefore require the most dentures and denture repairs
said Ms. Hayes.
This cutback again hits the most vulnerable. Older People are entitled to receive dental treatment which ensures they can live free from oral pain, with the ability to eat good food and speak and even sing a song or two. Cuts in this basic service just do not make financial sense as regular dental treatment is most important in older age and can be a further useful monitoring tool in the healthy living which keeps all older people healthy and active. Delayed early treatment may require more expensive treatment later.
Taking the average of €230 and €400 it appears that older people will have to provide an extra €330 per year for dental treatment to add to the additional costs of the carbon tax, the introduction of prescription charges and a decrease or abolition in waivers for waste charges as well as VAT on local authority charges to name but a few.
The Minister must act now to stop the slow drip of the removal of the universal benefits of the medical card to Older People. Many of today’s pensioners endured poor conditions in their youth with poor food and little or no dental care. In older age they must not be deprived again.