Ageism a 'constant theme' in Ireland

The belief that people become less useful, less interesting and of lesser value as they grow older must be tackled head-on if ageism is to be eliminated in our society, Minister of State for Older People Áine Brady said today.

She said Ireland must plan ahead now to make Ireland an age-friendly society.

Ms Brady was speaking as she launched the seventh "Say No To Ageism" week which is organised by the Equality Authority and the Health Service Executive.

She said complaints of ageism were a constant theme in her consultations on the National Positive Ageing Strategy, which is now being developed. "We are hearing that people are encountering ageist attitudes on a daily basis as they are accessing services of all kinds," Ms Brady said.

"Specifically, people are angry at the proliferation of telephone answering systems that take them through a seemingly endless series of steps before they to get speak to a live human being,” she said.

Older people were also annoyed at the assumption of service providers that they had internet access. Complaints also centred on footpaths and road surfaces that made life difficult for people with mobility problems, pedestrian crossing lights that changed too quickly, and the absence of seating and toilet facilities in public places.

Equality Authority chairwoman Angela Kerins said complaints on the age ground still dominated the information queries and case files of the Equality Authority. She also urged Ms Brady to protect the health services of older people from any future cuts, particularly the "vital" home help service.

HSE specialist in older people's services Paschal Moynihan welcomed the involvement of the transport sector in the anti-ageism initiative and said he hoped many other organisations would get involved in the week.

He pointed out that an estimated 23,000 people in Ireland were subjected to elder abuse and said ageism demoted the status of older people and served to justify such abusive behaviour.