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IT IS estimated that up to 5 per cent of older Irish people are victims of elder abuse, although some advocates for the elderly believe this figure represents only the tip of the iceberg and that the actual extent of abuse still remains hidden in this country.

Internationally renowned expert in elder abuse and self-neglect, Prof James O’Brien has just spent a six- month sabbatical in Ireland with Prof Des O’Neill at the Department of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, investigating the largely unidentified problem of elder abuse in Ireland.