Almost one in four calls made to a confidential helpline for older people now concerns physical or psychological abuse.
The Senior Help Line, based in Co Meath, operates the seven-day service for older people who need to talk to someone in private.
Loneliness has always accounted for a lot of calls, but calls concerning elder abuse have been steadily increasing since the service started four years ago. Last year, loneliness accounted for 28 per cent of calls while elder abuse accounted for 24 per cent.
Much of this abuse is inflicted by a family member. "It's very, very sad," says Ms Mary Nally, national co-ordinator of the help-line. "There's a lot of psychological abuse."
Some calls come from older people who are put under immense pressure to sign their homes over to their children.
"Some young people see their elderly parents sitting on a huge asset and houses are very expensive now, so older people can be put under huge pressure to sign it over."
The recent report Abuse, Neglect and Mistreatment of Older People, by Ms Anne O'Loughlin and Dr Joseph Duggan, estimated that 3 per cent of older people were being abused. Examples of the abuse included commandeering a parent's pension, depriving them of food, threatening them, neglecting their medical needs and locking them in their rooms.
Physical abuse is also reported to the helpline, either caused by a spouse or by a child. Alcohol often plays a role in physical violence.
The confidential nature of the helpline is essential for callers, Ms Nally says, as people are reluctant to confide in neighbours or relatives. "If abuse is going on in a family, they will not want their neighbours to know."
Callers also appreciate the fact that the volunteers are older people and have an insight into such problems.
All volunteers undergo extensive training and sign a pledge to uphold the confidential and non-directive nature of the service.
"We cannot tell people what to do, but we can ask if they have ever considered alternatives such as talking to a GP or a guard or a solicitor," Ms Nally says.
The helpline is the brainchild of the Summerhill Active Retirement Group in Meath. From a starting point of 32 volunteers in 1998, it now has 300 volunteers, operating in 11 centres around the State. A call from anywhere in Ireland is the same price as a local call.
More than 5,000 calls have been received by the helpline since 1998. Already this year, 35 per cent more calls have been received than in the same period last year.
Loneliness is still the common thread running through the calls. "It's still the big one. And you can be equally lonely in Dublin 4 or up the side of a mountain," Ms Nally says. "The availability of a friendly voice on the phone is a welcome link to the outside world."
The increase in women working outside the home means that daughters who would have frequently called on their elderly parents now do not have the time.
Weekends are also very busy if both partners are working outside the home, and children's needs often take precedence.
After loneliness and elder abuse, the next greatest reason for calls made to the helpline last year was to seek information. They accounted for 19 per cent of calls, while 14 per cent of calls concerned family problems. Some 12 per cent concerned health.
Roughly two-thirds of calls were from women and most calls (52 per cent) were from people aged from 50 to 75.
Calls increase in the winter, Ms Nally says, and at times like Christmas when loneliness is mostly keenly felt.
The confidential Senior Help Line number is 1850 440 444. It is available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day.