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Ageing Matters June 2016

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Ageing Matters June 2016 AgeingMatters in Ireland Determined A fair budget Members set priorities for this year’s budget. 4-5 Minister named Helen McEntee TD is the new junior minister for older people 3 Pensions Securing the future of the State Pension 6-7 ISSN No: 1649-3516 Issue no. 267 June 2016 2 AgeingMatters June 2016 Opinion Lost opportunities The recently published Programme for Government is another bitterly disappointing lost opportunity for our This booklet is a publication of political leaders. Certainly the voices of older people were Age Action. It is published six times a year. heard by the politicians on the hustings. There are many welcome (if a little vague) commitments to address the immediate needs of older people and some of the core Publisher Age Action Ireland Eamon issues which impact on the quality of people’s lives. Ltd Timmins But while the parties heard what we were saying, they Address 30-31 Lower failed to grasp the bigger picture or understand what is required to plan Camden St, for the years to come. Dublin 2 Some positives TelePhone (01) 475-6989 On the plus side, the new Government has committed to increasing the State Pension and the Living Alone Allowance above the rate of in- FAx (01) 475-6011 flation, although there is a worrying lack of detail. It plans to reduce the cost of medicine by lowering the cap on the Drugs Payment Scheme emAil [email protected] and reducing prescription charges. It promises additional annual fund- ing for extra home care packages and home helps. WebsiTe www.ageaction.ie There is also a strong emphasis on investing in primary care, with additional GPs, public health nurses and the expansion of services Age AcTion Company Limited by provide at primary care centres. irelAnd Ltd Guarantee There is a focus on supporting older people in their communities, Registered in Ireland with a commitment to protecting the Travel Pass, investing in the No. 198571 Housing Adaptation Grant and the Senior Alert Scheme, as well a com- Charity No. CHY mitment to rural transport. 10583 Severe disappointment chieF Eamon Timmins But the Programme for Government is disappointing because it focus- execuTive es solely on the current needs of older people and fails to plan for the Publishing & Justin Moran & future. It acknowledges that it is a weakness of the Irish political sys- inFormation Gerard Scully tem that it does not easily accommodate long-term thinking. It seeks to address this by outlining a new approach which involves consulta- design Catherine Osborn tion to achieve a broad based consensus. However, disappointingly, the document outlines plans for the establish- ment of a ‘Citizens’ Assembly’ to discuss a range of constitutional and social issues. Included in this will be a discussion on “the future needs of, and the possibilities and opportunities for, our ageing population”. There is no mention of the National Positive Ageing Strategy. Is n Age Action members it dead in the water, to be replaced by the outcome of the Citizens’ at our pre-budget Assembly? And who is going to lead Government policy on ageing and meeting in Cork. develop the cross-departmental thinking and planning that is required? Photo: Eddie Lyons In the meantime, as this Government gets to work on other priority issues, the clock is ticking. Our population is ageing. Unless those in power wake up quickly, we will all pay the price in the years ahead. 3 June 2016 AgeingMatters ▲ New Minister of State for Older People, Helen McEntee TD, and Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD. Photo: Fine Gael McEntee named new Minister for Older People The Taoiseach has appointed Deputy ing older people in the Earn Our Vote coalition, Helen McEntee as the new Minister of had campaigned for a Cabinet-level minister with State with Responsibility for Mental responsibility for older people. Health and Older People. “The simple truth is that Ireland is not prepared for the changes that are coming as our population Minister McEntee was first elected to the Dáil in ages,” Eamon pointed out. “More and more people 2013 after a by-election following the death of her are living longer and this is something to be proud father, Shane McEntee, who had previously repre- of, it’s a success story. sented the Meath East constituency. “But we need to ensure the right policies are in Age Action has welcomed her appointment and place to support positive ageing, to make Ireland has already written to the minister seeking a meet- the best country in the world in which to grow ing to highlight the urgent issues of concern facing old, a country where older people are respected, many older people. supported and their continuing contribution to Irish society is celebrated. Congratulations “That’s why we believe we need a minister who “We’d like to congratulate the minister on her new can drive this agenda forward and we hope we can role,” said Age Action CEO Eamon Timmins. “We work together with Minister McEntee to achieve look forward to working with her on a wide range this.” of issues facing older people today including the The new minister is a graduate of DCU with a need to implement the National Positive Ageing degree in Law, Politics and Economics and holds a Strategy, more supports for community care and a Masters in Communications and Journalism. Be- fair State Pension.” fore becoming a public representative she worked Over the course of the election campaign Age in the Department of Agriculture and previously for Action, along with other organisations represent- a subsidiary of Citibank. 4 AgeingMatters June 2016 Age Action members set out their budget priorities ▲ Age Action members in Cork discuss their budget priorities. Photo: Eddie Lyons Fighting for a fair budget in October One of Age Action’s top priorities every year is to cam- have carried out a nationwide paign to ensure the October budget delivers for older consultation with our members. people, writes Naomi Feely. This has included producing a short survey, which we issued While the Irish economy con- for older people. Deciding what with the previous edition of Age- tinues to slowly emerge from those areas are has been ing Matters, and holding a series recession, a range of competing a major focus of our members of consultation meetings around interests are vying for a share in recent weeks. the country. of the increased available We rely heavily on you, our resources. members, and other older people Hundreds of responses It is critical, therefore, that to inform this work. Our budget To date we have had more than Age Action fights for additional priorities are shaped by the reali- 300 responses to our survey. investment in the areas that will ty of growing older in Ireland. We are currently collating and make the biggest difference Over the last two months we analysing the feedback. We The consultations and survey results have given us a starting point to develop our pre-budget submission. 5 June 2016 AgeingMatters have also met with around one hundred older people over the course of meetings in Cork, Dub- Only you can shape the budget lin, Galway and Castlebar. Similar to previous years, our Unfortunately, fairness doesn’t always feature in how Gov- consultations are about giving ernment budgets are planned. More often, the stronger an members the time and the space organisation or a group of people, the better the budget they to talk about the issues that af- get in October. fect them and their families. Only you, our members, can ensure we get the budget we The main aim of each meeting deserve. In the coming weeks and months we’ll need you to was for those attending to iden- be putting pressure on Government TDs to ensure that the tify the top priorities to be includ- commitments they made during the election are delivered. ed in Age Action’s submission. Fine Gael promised a €5 increase in the pension. They Members worked in small promised cuts to prescription charges and an extra 2.2 mil- groups to identify the most im- lion home help hours. portant issues they wanted Age Only you can ensure they keep their promises. Action to highlight. After a general discussion about the different ideas, every- one was given five votes as they as a top priority at just one meet- of isolation and loneliness was left the meeting so that they ing out of the four. Some mem- the top priority. could help to decide what should bers felt that an increase might The consultations and survey be the top priorities. be wiped out by new charges or results have given us a starting Across all our consultations taxes and that we should focus point to develop our pre-budget the need for continued and elsewhere. submission. increased funding for home help The restoration of the Tele- Over the coming weeks we will and home care came up. This phone Allowance was a top begin developing specific and will be a major issue for us and priority at two of our meetings. realistic recommendations for one we will focus on when de- It has been some time since the various government depart- veloping our submission for the the Property Tax has been intro- ments. Department of Health. duced but it remains a critical Once our submission is final- issue for our members. At our ised we will prepare materials Pension and taxes meetings in both Dublin and for our members so that you can While an increase in the State Galway it was identified as a top engage with your local repre- Pension was discussed at nearly priority.
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