Mr. Eamon Timmins:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting Age Action here to address them. It is apt that we are here on the UN international day of older people. I wish everybody a happy UN international day. Age Action is a charity which promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people. We work with and on behalf of older people with the aim of making Ireland the best place in the world in which to grow older. In this context, the reality and lived experience of older people in Ireland is a foundation of our policy and advocacy work and we frame our analysis of policy very much from this perspective.
With this in mind, earlier this year, we consulted a nationwide consultation with our members. This included four regional meetings and a survey of our members through our monthly newsletter, Ageing Matters. The aim of the consultation was not to set out Age Action’s position on policy issues but to listen and understand the impact recent budgets have had on older people and what services, benefits and payments were most important to them and what aspect of their daily lives would benefit most from additional funding, should it be available. Our information service also provides a valuable insight into the lived experience of ageing. In 2013, our information officers responded to over 2,000 queries. The service works closely with the policy team to highlight the impact that policy changes have on older people. We also receive correspondence, both in writing and by telephone, regarding specific policy issues.