AGEISM IS cruel. It hits at the essence of being human. It denies a person’s worth merely because of chronological age. Say No to Ageism week, therefore, deserves recognition even if it does little more than highlight that the fight for the entitlements of older people is not yet won. Minister of State for Older People Áine Brady puts it well. Many people in their later years still believe that they are perceived as less useful, less interesting and of lesser value than younger citizens. They regularly encounter ageism.
The Minister, the first to make even minimal impact in this post, has a difficult role. In piloting the National Positive Ageing Strategy, she faces tough taskmasters in those involved in the Older and Bolder Campaign, Age Action and their supporters. They are demanding an end to discrimination and are seeking enhanced opportunity in areas such as education and training.
They want choice and flexibility in working and retirement, with a focus on the potential and participation of older people. Pension security, an area where the Government needs to tread carefully, is also bubbling in the mix. There are other issues too: intricate telephone answering systems, the assumption that everyone has internet access, broken footpaths, the absence of seats and toilets in public places, as well as pedestrian lights that change quickly, can all undermine quality of life.
They can make older people feel vulnerable and invisible although they make up about 11 per cent of the population. Even the most agile in mind and body would be challenged by the complexities of the Fair Deal for financing nursing home care. Indeed, the sheer awkwardness of so much service delivery means that frail older people often need an advocate to access acceptable supports, particularly in health.
Proximity to death, not age, is the biggest factor influencing health service usage. Nevertheless, a quarter to one-third of a person’s healthcare costs are in the last year of life, often in old age. Therefore this expenditure must be efficient and caring and ideally in accord with recent quality standards for end-of-life care. Sometimes in rushing to assert the positive aspects and potential of older people, we gainsay that older age can bring disability and illness and will inevitably end in death.
The Equality Authority may be enfeebled but it is good that, with the HSE, it has continued this annual event as officialdom’s support to Positive Ageing Week, the Bealtaine Festival and other popular projects. Old age needs many champions to work co-operatively.