News
Taoiseach’s understanding of state pension appreciated
The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament appreciated Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s understanding of the difficulties facing older people in his statement of November 18 on the importance of the State Pension and the other support schemes for older people such as the travel, TV licence and telephone allowance.
We in particular noted where Taoiseach Cowen stated that
We should also be mindful that there is a large amount of people who don’t have a lot of disposable income … and, therefore, rely solely on the state pension.
He also went on to say that he was
Proud of the provision we made for pensioners during the good years. It is not my objective to undo all of that good work now
The ISCP were pleased to note An Taoiseach’s assurances that there will be no dismantling of the social infrastructure, including various schemes which are in place to support Older People’s health & welfare, in addition to pensions.
An Taoiseach’s remarks – in particular the further remarks on his webcast – demonstrate an understanding of the various schemes and services, put in place over decades, which protect Older People’s dignity such as the travel and fuel schemes.
Máiréad Hayes, the Parliament’s CEO stated:
We are conscious that we face a difficult situation but it should be appreciated that we in the Parliament hear on a daily basis from Older People living in fear of what is to come.
We will hold An Taoiseach to his promise not to ‘undo the good work’ and to be ‘sensitive to the needs of our pensioners’.
We would also like to say ‘thank you’ to all our member organisations regarding their lobbying efforts to defend their services & pensions. Keep up the good work in the couple of weeks remaining before Budget 2010.
exhorted Ms. Hayes.
ISCP sign Memorandum of Understanding
The Chairs and CEOs of five of Ireland’s age sector NGOs came together on 2 October 2009 at the offices of The Atlantic Philanthropies in Dublin to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Atlantic seeks to increase the capacity of key organisations, including those made up of older adults, to advocate to protect government services for older adults.
The five organisations are Active Retirement Ireland, Age and Opportunity, The Carers Association, the Irish Senior Citizens’ Parliament and Senior Helpline. The five organisations committed themselves to working together initially on shared premises, collective purchasing and hiring of expertise and a funding initiative.
This Collaboration Initiative process began in May 2009. The anticipated outcomes by 2012 are:
- greater cohesion among the five participating organisations, with regular communication and cooperation with other NGOs becoming a core part of each organisation’s “way of working”;
- shared premises in a number of towns around Ireland with increased visibility of the NGO ageing sector across the country;
- more professional and formalized organisational supports across all the participating NGOs; and
- demonstrated cost savings across a range of goods and services.
A formal review of implementation will be carried out and the scope for broadening and deepening the Collaboration Initiative will be explored.
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- Key representatives from the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament discussing senior citizens’ issues in Ireland.
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- Empowering Irish seniors through active participation and senior rights at the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.
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- Senior Citizens Parliament meeting in Ireland for policy discussions and senior advocacy.
Proposed Medical Card Charges Will Hit The Most Vulnerable!
The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament is concerned that the proposed prescription charge will place an increased financial burden on Older People.
Responding to the comments made by Minister for Health Mary Harney, Maíréad Hayes CEO of the Parliament has said that the proposed 50 cent charge per prescribed item could result in a hefty monthly charge for some Older People.
The Minister’s response is not a remedy for the over-prescribing of drugs that can only be resolved by those responsible for writing prescriptions.
We know that one in six medical card holders are prescribed 10 or more drugs, should this charge be introduced many Older People could face an additional charge of €5 or more per month.
Combined with the fact that Older People’s incomes have already been reduced by 2% this year due to the withdrawal of the Christmas Bonus, the Parliament fears that Older People will find it hard to meet these charges, or may be forced to stop taking their medication.
The Parliament would point out that there is a cumulative impact from a number of recent government decisions all of which are increasing the risk of poverty amongst Older People in Ireland.
ISCP in the Day of Protest 2009
The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament took a proud part in Dublin’s Day of Protest (November 6) as part of the “Get Up, Stand Up” campaign.
Many of our volunteers came out to lend their support to the campaign which aims to protect jobs and pensions as well as vulnerable people and vital services.
Here are a few pictures from the March in Dublin.
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- Elderly participants enthusiastically attend the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, promoting senior rights and community engagement.
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- Participants at the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament advocate for senior rights and community support.
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- Community members gather for senior citizens’ rights at the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.
If you have any comments on the campaign or pictures from the other marches around the country, leave a comment in the box below or e-mail us and we will try to add them to our news here.