Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I read the Private Members' motion tabled by Fianna Fáil and was quite struck by the language used. The motion "agrees that older people are more anxious now ... concurs that older people do not want to be pressurised about ... application forms" and so on. While I have no doubt these sentiments apply to some older people, the language in the motion is so generic, empty and lacking in depth that it verges on stereotyping. What is worse, it implies that older people, contrary to what I and most Members know to be true, are only concerned about themselves. I consider this to be a shallow and foolish approach by Fianna Fáil.

If Members truly are to discuss issues of concern to older people, the language one must use must refer to them as citizens and members of the wider community of which they are proud stakeholders. It may surprise Fianna Fáil but older people have children about whose livelihoods they care. Older people have grandchildren about whose education they care. Older people have husbands, wives and partners about whose health services they care. Older people have friends and neighbours who lack a job and about whom they worry. Moreover, older people have a real and genuine concern for their country, for which they worked so hard and about which they care so much. While it is true it has not been possible to exclude any single group from the economic disaster Fianna Fáil brought on this country, older people appreciate, and to a greater extent than Fianna Fáil give them credit for, the difficulties and challenges the current Government faces. They understand that as we move through these fiscal adjustments and economic corrections, neither they nor anyone else is immune from the consequences they bring with them, and yet many acknowledge the hard work done to protect the pension, free travel, free television licence, gas and electricity allowances, living alone allowance, carer's allowance and so on. Moreover, they do not take this for granted.

The Fianna Fáil motion implies that older people are a selfish uncomprehending group of people who do not understand the economic reality they, their children and grandchildren are in and that society as a whole faces. Let us desist from the artificial nonsense of carving older people out of the community and segregating them into a disconnected group that is separate from everyone else. It is such thinking that is seriously dangerous to older people's well-being and participation in society.

If there is one issue I had thought ought to have been included in the motion, because it seriously affects older people in particular, it is loneliness. I have taken a particular interest in the issues of loneliness and social isolation among older people and the reason they should have been included is because they affect older people to a greater extent than any other section of society. This is because as they leave work and social isolation occurs, as family members and friends pass away and as mobility issues kick in, loneliness can be a serious problem. In its 2011 report entitled Older People - Experiences and Issues, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul quoted one elderly person as saying there was nothing worse than loneliness. It is the worst form of poverty.

That is the reason it is particularly important to frame our attitude to older people, and older people who are isolated in that sense, by focusing on participation in society. As we consider the supports we offer to older people in the community, is it best that we give them cash or, more importantly in terms of the impact on their health and well-being, should we put in place services that will ensure they can interact with society and be a part of their communities and neighbourhoods? That is the question we should consider as we examine our attitude to older people.

We have a role in Government in this respect but citizens across the country can also participate. It costs nothing to visit an older person. It costs nothing to check in on one's neighbour on one's way home. If we were to get anything out of this economic crisis where it is very difficult to get access to money, we should make a call to action for citizens across this country, be they politicians, ordinary members of the public or family members, to interact and take account of our society, community and our older people who are suffering in certain instances from isolation and a lack of social contact.

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