Ireland’s leading advocacy organisation for older people has warmly welcomed today’s recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly.
But Age Action also warned that it is critical that the Assembly’s recommendations are implemented after years of failed strategies and plans.
Justin Moran, Head of Advocacy and Communications at Age Action, said: “The citizens have done their job; now it’s over to the Oireachtas.
“When presented with the evidence and given the time to deliberate the citizens showed the overwhelming consensus for a fair State Pension system, the abolition of mandatory retirement and investment in homecare.”
Frustration with strategies
Over the course of two weekends of debate many speakers and citizens expressed their frustration with the failure of successive governments to implement existing strategies for positive ageing, for carers and on dementia.
Justin Moran continued: “The first vote at the Assembly was to unanimously urge the Government to prioritise implementing existing strategies on positive ageing, on caring and on dementia.
“The simple truth is that if the strategies we already have were being implemented we would not have needed the Assembly to examine this topic.
“Today’s recommendations from the Assembly should be seen as a second chance for our politicians to commit to making Ireland the best country in the world in which to grow old.”
