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[Press Release: February 14th, 2005] Services for older people must be prioritised say GreensThe Green Party has called for services for older people to be prioritised following a half-day seminar on the issue hosted by the Bray Partnership in the Glenview Hotel.According to Green Party councillor Deirdre de Burca, the success of the seminar was linked to the fact that most of the people who attended were members of Active Retirement groups and other groups for older people. "It was really great to see older people being consulted about what they felt their needs were, and what the gaps are in the current services for them" she says. Some of the gaps in existing services that were identified by those attending the seminar included the need for better transportation to attend hospital appointments, more independent living schemes with services on-site, more information about entitlements and grants for older people and more help with home repairs and general maintenance of their homes. "The older people who attended the seminar were very appreciative of those benefits and services they could avail of at the moment" says de Burca. "However they were also very sensible about the kinds of services they felt would help them to live with more dignity in the community. Many of these people have paid their taxes all of their lives and society has a responsibility to provide for them when they are older. It is surely a mark of a civilised society that it treats its older people well and looks after their needs". Green councillor, Caroline Burrell, claimed that all citizens have an interest in making sure that the services provided for older people are satisfactory. "Many of us have older parents or even grandparents and we can see the huge difference that well-resourced health, care and community services can make to their lives" she says. "It is anticipated that Ireland will have a rapidly growing elderly population over the next few decades. We will all experience being older and more reliant on services at some stage of our lives so let's make sure the necessary services are made available now".
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