Tag Archives: Active Retirement Ireland

A QUIN man has been appointed as one of Ireland’s first digital ambassador for Active Retirement Ireland.  After a rigorous tech training programme, Eugene Philips was conferred with the prestigious honour at a special event at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin. The 75-year-old will now lead a series of free digital skills classes for older people in the community. The initiative is part of the Vodafone Ireland Foundation Hi Digital programme, in partnership with Active Retirement Ireland and ALONE. Over the past three months, Eugene has undergone intensive technology training, Hi Digital train-the-trainer training and Hi Digital platform training. “I think for a lot of older people with low or no digital literacy, they perhaps feel as though getting online is too big a task or they’re too far behind,” said Mr Philips. “You don’t have to be a tech whizz — technology these days is designed to be easy for people to use and the Hi Digital …

THE exclusion of pensioners from a new tourism stimulus scheme for the off-peak season has been described as “a real slap in the face” by the Shannon-based President of Active Retirement Ireland. Kay Murphy told The Champion the terms of the new Stay and Spend scheme, which provides a tax rebate on certain tourism products and services, “victimised” those on State pensions. The initiative, which allows people to claim 20% back on up to €625 spent between October and April of next year, excludes anyone who does not pay tax. “I’m very disappointed about this, so many of our members are dependent solely on the State pension,” Mrs Murphy said. “Because they don’t pay tax any more, they’re not eligible for the scheme.” Mrs Murphy noted that the value of Active Retirement members to the tourism sector had been valued last year at €13.5m and that their exclusion from the scheme made no sense. “At this stage, those of us …

CLARE GP and former Dáil deputy, Dr Michael Harty has said the while the ongoing ban on visitors to nursing homes was “a dilemma”, the time was not yet right to lift restrictions. The Kilmihil-based GP said that, despite a call from the nursing homes regulator to look at allowing visits, the overriding concern had to be keeping Covid-19 out. Earlier this week, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) called on health officials to examine ways of easing restrictions, over concern for the welfare of residents. “For elderly people, isolation from family and visitors is very restrictive,” Dr Harty said. “But, we must balance the dilemma that poses with keeping the virus out. Given the devastating impact that Coronavirus can have, the balance probably comes down in favour of the restrictions.” Noting that some nursing homes were facilitating families to see residents at their bedroom windows, or by video call, Dr Harty said that these were the preferred option …

CANDIDATES will have to earn the votes of half a million older people in the General Election, according to an alliance of organisations representing the views of Ireland’s older citizens. The Earn Our Vote campaign is challenging all of Clare’s election candidates to prove that they represent the needs of older people, by committing to implement three key policies, if they are elected to Government. The Earn Our Vote alliance is comprised of Active Retirement Ireland, Age Action, Age and Opportunity, ALONE, Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Active Ageing Partnership and Third Age Ireland. The Earn Our Vote campaign is centred on three central policy demands. The campaign is calling for the appointment of a Cabinet-level Minister for Older People to implement the National Positive Ageing Strategy. The alliance is also looking for support for older people to remain healthy and engaged within their communities for longer, through interventions and investment in primary care and care in the community. In addition, calls …