Scandal of our 'invisible people'

In parts of Ireland today there are people who do not have bank accounts, are not registered with a GP and who have become isolated and very vulnerable, writes Marese McDonagh

PAT LOVE often thinks of two men living in lonely circumstances in north Co Leitrim that he had planned to make contact with. But both died before he got a chance to knock on their doors.

Love has spent more than a decade knocking on the doors of men who are trapped in a haze of depression, alcoholism or loneliness. Some live in circumstances which would horrify their neighbours, in homes without central heating, hot running water or an inside toilet. Some are in such despair that they take to their beds for weeks at a time, their pain unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Not long before the 2007 general election Love, co-ordinator of the North Leitrim Men’s Group (NLMG), cornered Minister for Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon O Cuiv, who was campaigning in Manorhamilton, and asked him what could be done for people living in houses which did not have an inside toilet.

The Minister seemed flabbergasted that this was an issue, says Love. He asked for details and Love sent his office a list of 37 houses in the north of the county where the occupants don’t have this basic facility. Five of the houses were occupied by women. The department has since confirmed to him that this is a national issue.

When Martin Duffy took up a two-year post as rural development officer with the Co Monaghan Partnership in 2006 he was shocked at the living conditions he encountered in isolated rural areas. “I come from a commercial background and I was shocked at what I saw – people without an inside toilet, very, very damp houses without central heating, slates missing, water gushing in where flat roofs needed repair, mildew on the walls, no hot water on tap, that kind of thing.”

Duffy said that in some cases there were mental health issues, pointing out that there are ethical dilemmas for statutory agencies, or neighbours and relatives whose help is not welcome. He estimated that there could be as many as 140 people in the county living in conditions which many would regard as uninhabitable.

The NLMG, which has been highlighting rural isolation since 1997, is based at the Bee Park Community Resource Centre in Manorhamilton, a building it shares with the local creche, the North West Simon Community, Manorhamilton Enterprise Forum and the Sean McDermott boxing club.

Outside the door on a chilly winter evening, a huddle of men in luminous labourers’ bibs take a break for a chat and a smoke. The bustle

in the building dur-ing busy periods is a welcome diversion for those who go home to an empty house every evening. The men’s group runs a community employment scheme which, Pat Love says, gives many of the 21 participants a reason to get up in the morning. It also gives them a sense of achievement, as many re-discover old labouring skills.

While the statistics, so far, suggest that only three of the current participants will go on to another job or further education, most will retain their links with the group thanks to the drop-in centre where past and present participants can call in to watch a football match or catch up on the news.

RURAL ISOLATION is not confined to Co Leitrim. It is an issue President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin highlighted last year when they asked the GAA and the IFA to come up with proposals to tackle the problem. In an interview with RTÉ at the time, President McAleese noted: “I often attend senior-citizens’ events, and one of the things that would perplex me would be the vast number of women and the small number of men at these events. I would ask where all the men are. They just are not as good at social engagements as women.”

The GAA and the IFA plan to set out a programme of social events aimed at older men, with both organisations utilising their considerable local structures to reach the target audience. The first step in the process has been the appointment last month by the GAA of a full-time social co-ordinator.

Research conducted by the Co Monaghan Partnership, which has yet to be published, shows that many people living alone in rural Ireland are frightened, lonely and depressed. The survey of 100 people living alone in the county found that almost one in five did not have a lock on their front or back doors, while nine out of 10 did not have an alarm. Not surprisingly, 17 per cent said they felt afraid in their own home. More than 40pc said they felt lonely while even more said they felt “down”.

One of the most surprising aspects of the research was the number of people aged over 65 who do not avail of their entitlements. While 80pc of those surveyed were over 65, researchers found that 10 to 14 per cent in that age group do not avail of free travel, free electricity, free television licence, or free telephone rental.

Seven people over 65 said they were not in receipt of a contributory or non-contributory pension and only one of those was receiving a Northern Ireland pension. The researchers do not believe that the other six were below the pension age of 66 and it seems likely that some belong to a cohort of what Love describes as “invisible people” who exist without engaging with any services, who do not have bank accounts, who are not registered with a GP and who because of their family or geographical circumstances have become isolated from the wider community.

The majority of people surveyed in Monaghan said they did have social outlets. Going to church (84pc) is the most common, followed by shopping (81pc), and visiting other people (66pc), while going to the pub was way down the list (28pc).

Public transport or the lack of it was a recurring theme, with 70pc saying they did not have access to any. “I don’t think we were too surprised that transport is an issue in a rural county, but the results also suggest a strong possibility that people are not availing of their entitlements,” said researcher Laura Caslin.

Pat Love is not surprised that going to the pub is no longer the main social outlet of the people he deals with given the number of rural pubs which have closed in recent years or reduced their opening hours. As a result, he has noticed a surge in the level of drinking at home, but he has also noticed a more unexpected development – the introduction of some single elderly men to soft drugs. He explained that a lot of outsiders who have moved into isolated and scenic parts of Leitrim are growing cannabis and are happy to share their crops with neighbours.

“There was a time when it would have been sacrilege and even a roaring drunk would get on his soapbox to give out about drugs, but that is changing,” said Love, who estimated that one-third of his clients have sampled a neighbour’s “weed”.

ONE OF THE POINTS made by President McAleese when she raised the issue of rural isolation among older men was that the over-65s are the second most at-risk group for suicide. Love says that there is still a cultural resistance to acknowledging that men get depressed and lonely

“We have to be proactive because the people who need us will not be proactive in seeking help. But it takes hard work to win the trust of these men and get them to talk to you.” He recalls being told of two men living in isolation who he felt might have benefitted if they got work on the community employment scheme, but they had died before he got to contact them. Another two men he had hoped to help “were lost to drink” before he reached them.

Over the years Love has encountered “sniggering and laughing” – especially among men working in the relevant agencies – when he has tried to highlight this issue. “A lot of the men we see here have never been loved. There is an emptiness in their lives and it is no wonder they fill it with alcohol.”

In 2001, the NLMG published a report outlining the bleak living conditions of many elderly men, which attracted considerable media attention. It was funded by the Combat Poverty Agency, which in the recent budget was subsumed into the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

“I believe that is an attempt to muzzle bodies like ours,” says Love. “No Government department is going to highlight poverty.”