David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A number of questions arise. The issue of culture and mindset is coming up repeatedly. I remember meeting someone from South Korea a few years ago. They said their culture had been such that older people were respected hugely. The eldest son in the family had the responsibility of minding the parents and looking after them, but that was changing a little there at the time and they were concerned about that. It is a moving thing. We use the term "older people" rather than "the elderly", which is a little more objective than subjective. A good friend of mine said to me at one stage that she would not go into a nursing home because they were all old people in there, and she was 95. There are people who are old and who are 55 and I know people who are very active and young at heart at 85. A good friend of mine is 85 and he is just amazing. How does one define older people?