Old age pensions should be increased to a minimum of €300 per week immediately, pensioner-support groups demanded today.
Five election candidates faced more than 100 senior citizens this morning to hear the concerns of the elderly.
Tom O'Higgins
Organised by the Older and Bolder campaign - a coalition of groups calling for a National Strategy for Older People in Ireland - politicians were told to bring pensions in line with inflation.
"We are not on our knees looking for handouts, we are looking for our rights and a vindication of our rights," Older and Bolder's Chairman Tom O'Higgins said. "We don't want our voices to go unheard and our voting power to be taken for granted."
The maximum current rate for the State pension is €209.30 per week for those aged between 66 and 80. That increases to €219.30 for those aged 80 and over.
Older and Bolder is demanding that pension payouts be tied to a minimum 40 per cent of average industrial earnings. It has criticised proposals from politicians to gradually increase the old age pension to €300 by 2012.
Politicians from five of the main parties addressed the event after pensioners in the audience told of their own experiences.
Election candidates Pascal Donoghue (Fine Gael), Cait Keane (Progressive Democrats), Daithi Doolan (Sinn Féin), Sean Ryan (Labour) and Patricia McKenna (Green Party) promised to address pensioners' concerns.
Fianna Fáil was unable to send a representative.
PA