nvitation to a conference at the University of Ulster

Jordanstown on Thursday 24th May 2012.

Planning for the future


THE FOCUS OF THE CONFERENCE: The conference is to disseminate the most-up-to date evidence on how other countries support ageing family carers to continue to care for their older relative with a learning disability. Dr Taggart and his research team will also present the findings of their ongoing two-year research study ”Exploring the needs of ageing family carers of older adults with learning disabilities in N. Ireland”: funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust. It is anticipated that the conference will also create a forum for debate and discussion around current issues for ageing family carers relating to future planning, the use of community services and developing priorities for new styles of day care and residential services.

This one-day conference will bring together a range of academics, researchers, policy planners, commissioners, service providers including voluntary and private providers of care, front-line staff and family carers. The morning session will focus on ’identifying and meeting the needs of ageing family carers of older people with learning disabilities’. The afternoon session will focus on ‘using evidence to inform policy, services and practice for ageing family carers of older people with learning disabilities’.

The conference is funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, London and HSC Research & Development Division, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland.

TRAVEL: The conference is taking place at the Loughview Suite, University of Ulster, Jordanstown Campus, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, BT37 0QB.

REGISTRATION: There is no fee to attend this conference.


If you have any questions or queries about the conference you can e-mail Dr Maria Truesdale-Kennedy at mn.truesdale@ulster.ac.uk or telephone 02890366498.

The Voice of Older Poeple & The Glenfinn Drama Group presents the hilarious Sam Cree Comedy Farce "Wedding Fever"
The plot is humorous cocktail of mishaps and misunderstanding all resulting in much hilarity and slapstick in vintage Sam Cree style, a classically funny play that will appeal to audiences of all ages.

Come along to the Balor Theatre on Tuesday the ht at 8:30 for great night of family entertainment.

Ticktets cost €12:00

http://www.olderandbolder.ie/

Home is a special place for most of us. We want to continue to live in our own homes as we grow older. For the last twenty-five years, Ireland’s consecutive governments have said that we should be able to age well in our own homes. However, policy implementation has been weak and our system of community care remains patchy and inefficient.

Older & Bolder’s campaign MAKE HOME WORK highlights the obstacles faced by people � older people, people with chronic illnesses, people with disabilities - who want to live well at home and who need support to do so. Our campaign highlights solutions and shows how we can MAKE HOME WORK by building on older people’s insights and improving our system of community care.

If you haven't done so already please take the time to sign our online petition and send a message to an Taoiseach to make the right to age well in our own homes a reality.

Currently, the HSE is considering cuts to vital supports such as home help hours, home care packages and grants to voluntary service providers. The HSE itself says that these cuts would:

increase demand on hospitals and long-stay care or Fair Deal beds;
increase the number of delayed discharges and lead to longer waiting lists;
impact on A&E waiting times; and
decrease older people’s ability to remain at home.

By supporting our 12 month campaign to MAKE HOME WORK you will be working with Older & Bolder to make the right to age well at home a reality. Join us in calling for:

older people to be recognised and supported as active managers of their own health.
clarity around entitlements to key supports like Home Help, respite and Home Care Packages.
the protection of funding to existing community care.
the development of effective primary care in the community, integrated with acute hospital services and step-down facilities.
the recognition - and safeguarding - of an adequate income, local transport and vibrant community activity as real health inputs not expendable luxuries.
the publication of an ambitious National Positive Ageing Strategy as a vehicle to make ageing well at home a real option.

Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles and by opposing end them… The words of the Hamlet, written by the Bard, Shakespeare, in the 1600’s still resonate with an uncanny truth in 2012, a year which seems to have commenced with much protestation and opposing, but with very little in the way of progress.

To pay or not to pay indeed, for the increased cost of living (existing) and increased and newly introduced stealth taxes which are coalescing to bite deeper and harder than ever before are having devastating affect on Irish people, of all ages. Every day we here of another business in which people have worked hard and invested countless hours ‘closing down’ and people being made redundant - what a horrible word ‘redundant’. New signage ‘To-Let’, ‘closing down’ ‘For Rent’ adorns buildings which once housed thriving businesses. This unfortunate and depressing state of affairs contributes to individual, local and national unhappiness and depression, it is the relentless increasing disparity between the rich and the poor which is the main contributing factor to people having a depressed outlook, which is, despite whatever form of optimistic spin you try to put on it, affecting individual and national confidence. The simple fact is until this disparity is addressed and a sense of true equality and social equilibrium reinstated can we expect any form of normalcy to return.

But never fear, because we have firm decisive leadership coming from our firm decisive Government… or perhaps not; with our leader, deciding within eight weeks of telling us in his State of the Nation Address ‘that it wasn’t our fault’ to then say actually… it was we the people who went “mad borrowing” with greed that was out of control, greed that contributed to creating the economic mess. Some might say ‘fair point’ indeed people were greedy, people were profligate and people reckless with their monies. But these are simply words, but ‘words’ have power, and the context in which ‘words’ are used can add or detract from there power, and by including the simple word “some” the context of the statement made by our Taoiseach would have changed from inflammatory one to being a simple statement of fact.

Indeed “some” people did get greedy, ‘some’ people become decadent and ‘some’ squandered money… but, not all, not all.

But it now appears that the ‘all’ have to pay for the reckless abandonment and greed of the ‘some’, with the introduction of new ‘taxes’ such as The Household Charge of €100 on virtually ‘all’ private residential properties. If you are fortunate to own a dwelling, the basic way in which you pay this charge is to register for the Household Charge and pay it “On-line”, you can pay directly at the offices of the County Council by filling in the New Account Declaration Form HC12N.

But for the present and for a while at least we are where we are, and with the dire state we are in; To Pay or Not to Pay or Not to Pay, still remains the burning question… and it is up to each individual to come to their own conclusion regarding what is the answer.

Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Date published:
Thursday, January 19, 2012
News source:
CARDI
Region:
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland



Older people across the island of Ireland are increasingly balancing budgets and priorities between basic necessities, keeping their houses warm and paying bills finds new research published today (Thursday 19th January) by the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI).

The research, carried out by Professor Paddy Hillyard, Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Demi Patsios, Bristol University, uses data from before and during the recession to show that pensioners are being affected, particularly in the ability to keep their houses warm and cuts to discretionary spending on items such as annual holidays. It finds that while single pensioners in Northern Ireland remain worst off, living standards for couples in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) have worsened due to the recession.

Professor Hillyard says, “This study finds that while pensioners are coping with the recession in comparison to other groups, rising costs are increasingly placing pressure on older people’s household budgets. A key area of concern is the number of older people unable to heat adequately their homes as fuel poverty disproportionately impacts on the health and living conditions of this group.”

The researchers developed set of four comparable factors of affordability across the island of Ireland: warm house, utility arrears, hire purchase/loan arrears and annual holidays to create a harmonised All-Ireland Living Standards Index for older people. Using this they found both single pensioners (NI & ROI) and pensioner couples (NI) are finding it more difficult to keep their homes warm. There has been an increase in the proportion of single pensioners in NI unable to keep their house warm, from 4% to 5.5%. In ROI, there has been a similar increase of 2.4% to 4.7% between 2007 and 2009. In NI, the numbers of pensioner couples struggling with heating their home has more than trebled from 2.2% to 6.9%.

The research also found that older people, North and South are reducing discretionary spending. Annual holidays appear to have been one of the first things which older people have cut back on. The proportion of pensioner couples who were unable to afford an annual holiday increased from 14.8% to 19.3% in NI and from 14.9% to 26.3% in ROI.

Dr Roger O’Sullivan, Director of CARDI, says, “This timely research highlights the impact the recession is having across the island of Ireland. This report underlines those older people who are most at risk are single pensioners and confirms the high dependence of many older people on state benefits. ”

Full research report Inequalities in old age, Ireland, North and South

CARDI Research briefing

Media Contact:
Nicola Donnelly
Communications Officer
Centre for Ageing Research & Development in Ireland (CARDI)
Tel no: 00 353 (0) 1 478 6308
Mob no: 00 353 (0) 867 927 684
Email: nicola@cardi.ie