Press Release

(Friday 22 July 2022) Responding to AIB’s announcement on Friday that they will not proceed with their plan to remove cash services from 70 branches, Celine Clarke Head of Advocacy and Communications at Age Action said “Cash is king for people budgeting on low incomes or who are not online. Limiting their access to their cash puts those people at risk of debt. Forcing people to do their business online puts some older persons at risk of financial elder abuse." 

(Thursday 21 July 2022) 

Age Action welcomes the high-level intervention today by the Taoiseach calling for AIB to reconsider and reflect on its announcement that 70 branches will become “cashless”.

Dr Nat O’Connor, Senior Public Affairs and Policy Specialist at Age Action said “Age Action has been contacted by many older persons who are dismayed that they will lose access to cash services in their local area. We know that many people manage their income through cash, literally putting aside amounts of money to cover different expenses.  For the many people not using the internet, it is just not possible to keep track of cashless transactions and there is a risk of getting into debt that people just can’t afford when living on a modest State Pension. There is also a genuine risk of financial elder abuse for those people who are not online if they are forced to seek help to manage their financial affairs.”

Press Release: Joint NGO Statement on Energy Poverty and Energy Pollution

Environmental and anti-poverty organisations join forces to call for common solutions to both energy poverty and climate  pollution

The NGOs are calling for sweeping cross-Government action to simultaneously eliminate energy poverty and reduce Ireland’s polluting emissions by 51% by 2030

(15 June 2022)  On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Age Action is reiterating the call for the establishment of a Commissioner for Ageing and Older Persons, with a supporting legal framework, that will ensure that we are all treated with respect and on an equal basis with the rest of the population in older age.

3,871 notifications of abuse for persons aged over 65 was reported in the HSE’s National Safeguarding Report 2021. Immediate family members are identified as the person of concern in reported cases of abuse of people over the age of 65.

(31 March 2022) Age Action is calling on the Government to reintroduce the Energy Guarantee for Older Persons, which would provide a minimum quantity of energy for all older persons, as part of a comprehensive new national energy poverty strategy. The call comes as the latest price increases of 23.4% for electricity and 24.8% for gas were announced by Electric Ireland. 

(15 March 2022) Reacting to Bord Gáis Energy’s announced price increase of 39% for gas and 27% for electricity, Age Action’s Senior Public Affairs and Policy Specialist, Nat O’Connor, said “Many older persons will be unable to afford this price increase, meaning that people will be unable to heat their homes adequately unless they are given extra support. Many older people need to keep their homes extra warm for health reasons.”

(8 February 2022) Reacting to the Government agreement to an €8 billion retrofit programme, aiming to bring 500,000 homes to B+ energy ratings, Celine Clarke, Head of Advocacy and Communications at Age Action said “We welcome the fact that this programme for government commitment is a step closer to implementation as climate action is urgently needed but we need it to be in the spirit of climate justice. The home retrofit programme is going to take at least eight years to deliver its promise to retrofit half a million homes. But older people need help with their energy bills now, as energy prices went up by 27% in 2021 and are expected to rise further. That is why Age Action has called for a new energy poverty strategy, to include new measures to use carbon tax revenue to fund energy payments to every older person who cannot afford rising energy costs”.

This My Legacy Month, Age Action celebrates the seeds that are planted now that make a big difference for everyone’s futures.

(12 October 2021) Reacting to Budget 2022, Age Action welcomes the Government’s recognition that older people have been left behind for three years while the cost of living has gone up, but €5 on the State Pension will replace less than half of the €10.24 that the State Pension has lost in purchasing power since January 2019. The increase of €3 in the Living Alone allowance is welcome as it will assist the 4 in 10 older people who live alone.