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Over half of all cases of abuse of elderly people are committed by a family member, figures released today have shown.

A new information campaign aimed at raising awareness of the abuse of elderly people has been launched by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The ‘Open your Eyes’ campaign is intended to draw people’s attention to the issue of elder abuse and provide information on how to report it.

The HSE received over 600 notifications of alleged elder abuse from January to May of this year. Of these, 93 per cent of the alleged abuse referrals took place in the residence of the older person.

In 39 per cent of referrals, the alleged abuse was caused by an individual’s son or daughter, while 20 per cent was undertaken by a spouse. In addition, 12 per cent of abuse referrals concerned other relatives.

In 56 per cent of cases referred to the HSE, the person causing concern was living with the older person.