Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday was world elder abuse awareness day, which was commemorated in a number of ways across the country. There was a public lecture at NUI Galway by the school of nursing and midwifery. The objective of the day was to raise awareness of elder abuse and how prevalent it unfortunately is. It is not confined to residential settings but can be carried out by a friend, neighbour, family member or stranger. Hidden abuse is often particularly vile. There is an imperative on all of us to protect our elderly from abuse by these predators, who often strike at a very vulnerable time for our elderly in society.

There is a HSE senior care worker team which will deal with concerns regarding elder abuse. It is important to get the message out that if people have concerns about somebody in their community, family or network of friends, they should contact their local HSE community care organisation to report the matter.