Tag Archives: elderly people

CARING for an elderly parent or loved one presents a number of difficulties. Many people struggle, especially when it comes to providing older people with enough time, support and loving care during the harsh winter months. Cathal O’Neill, operations manager of Home Instead Senior Care in Clare, talks about how you can help the elderly this winter. “We all need to work together to ensure that everyone is kept safe and warm during the winter. You should check on friends and neighbours, who may be struggling in the cold. Okay, we all might feel a little awkward turning up to a neighbour’s house uninvited these days but what is the worst that can happen? “It’s no harm to call in with some cake or biscuits and let the person know you are only a phonecall away if needed. This can be a fantastic support to seniors or people living on their own,” he said. During winter months, elderly people are more prone …

Age Action is urging people to keep an eye on their older neighbours tomorrow night (Saturday). Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications at Age Action, said,”Halloween can be a distressing time for many older people, especially those living alone, with people setting off bangers and fireworks or large crowds coming to the door after dark. “We would encourage people to keep an eye on your older neighbours, particularly if you are out trick-or-treating with children tomorrow night, to ensure they are not being bothered.

Age Action is urging communities to play their part to ensure that their older neighbours remain safe and well in their homes as Met Eireann forecasts snowy and icy conditions countrywide today (Tuesday). Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said, “Snow and ice make that challenge even greater as many older people may not be able to get out to buy food, fuel or medical supplies.” Met Eireann is forecasting accumulations of up to 8cm of snow in some parts of the country and hail, sleet and icy conditions in other areas. “If there is an older person living in your neighbourhood we would encourage you tovisit or phone them to check if they need supplies and that they are okay – don’t depend on others to do it,” Mr Timmins said. ” We are urging older people not to venture out in slippery and dangerous conditions. But if they are to take this advice, they may need help from neighbours …

Age Action has urged the Government to take “meaningful steps” in the upcoming Budget to assist older people, who are struggling as a result of the cumulative effect of recent austerity budgets. “Many older people are struggling to heat their homes, pay for their medications and adapt their homes so they can continue to live in them,” Age Action’s head of advocacy and communications, Eamon Timmins said. “The choices which older people are being forced to make – choosing between food, fuel and medication – are simply unacceptable,” he declared when addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection on Wednesday. Mr Timmins outlined the results of research it carried out earlier this year with its members across Ireland to assess the impact which austerity measures were having. “From people going to bed early and staying in bed longer in the morning in order to stay warm, to people cutting back on food, older people revealed how they …

Today, October 1,  is  International Day of Older People and ALONE is highlighting the fact that one in five Irish older people live in deprivation. CEO of ALONE, Sean Moynihan said, “International Day of Older People is a time for older persons to celebrate the positive things in their life, to rejoice in their family, to celebrate their friends and to enjoy the rewards that they have earned through many years hard work. “In ALONE, while we do celebrate these positives, every day we are in contact with people who are within the 20% of Irish older people that are at risk of poverty or living in deprivation. There is an unacceptable amount of older people within society with very little to celebrate and who are living without a range of basic human rights.” Mr Moynihan noted that instead of becoming a more age – friendly country, Ireland’s number of older people, who are marginalised or deprived, has actually increased from …

VULNERABLE  elderly Clare people are still likely to be waiting up to two years for housing adaptation grants, despite a small increase in Clare County Council’s annual allocation from central government. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government adaptation grant allocation of €3.375m in 2011 was slashed by 56% to €1.454m in 2012 before a marginal increase to €1.545m last year. According to the department, an increase in the region of €54,00 is earmarked for 2014 but this is far from satisfactory for many interested parties, who say this will leave elderly people in difficulty navigating their own homes. The average waiting time, which was as high as three years in 2012, has been condemned as “inordinate” by ALONE chief executive officer, Sean Moynihan and “unacceptable “by local county councillors. Mr Moynihan, on behalf of the group that provides support for elderly people, called for the introduction of national assessment criteria to identify those most in need of …