February 2010 – National Positive Ageing Strategy: Minister Áine Brady TD invites older people to have their say

The Minister for Older People and Health Promotion, Áine Brady TD said that she is beginning a series of meetings around the country to hear at first hand the views of older people on issues that affect them. The meetings are a further part of the Minister's work to develop a new Positive Ageing Strategy. The Minister said that the new Strategy will set the direction for future policies, programmes and services for older people in Ireland.

'The Government wants to make sure that the position of older people in Irish society is recognised and appreciated," the Minister said. The
Minister noted that she was particularly keen to hear the views of older people themselves about the barriers they experience in their day to day
lives and how these affect them as well as their ability to participate in their communities. Some of this, she suggested, arose from ageist attitudes
and practices and quite often people were not even conscious of these.

The Minister added that her call for submissions to the National PositiveAgeing Strategy had been very successful. 186 submissions had been received from a broad range of agencies and organisations as well as individual older people from all over Ireland. She now wants to follow that up with face to face meetings around the country. She is planning to have eight meetings in all over the coming months.

The first meeting will take place in Cork on 4th March next and is being organised in cooperation with the Cork City Partnership, where the theme is Challenging Ageism to Create an Age Friendly Society. The venue is Middle Parish Community Centre, Grattan St., Cork - 2.00 to 4.15 p.m. (Registration/refreshments from 1.00 p.m.)

The Minister issued a warm invitation to individual older people, to their representative organisations and to service providers in the statutory,
voluntary and community sectors to come along and have their say.

Minister Brady plans to attend the meetings on the new Strategy around the country during the months of March and April. The first of these, in the
Southern Region, will be held in Cork City on March 4th. [Contact Linda McKernan, Cork City Partnership at (021) 430 2310)]; in the North-West in
Sligo on March 11th. [Contact Camilla Smyth, Sligo Leader Partnership at (071) 914 1138]. These will be followed by subsequent meetings in Galway, Limerick, Wexford, Kildare, Louth and Dublin. Details to be announced nearer the dates.

Members of the public who require further information can contact the Strategy Development Unit, Office for Older People, Department of Health
and Children - Tel: (01) 635 3057 or e-mail Positiveageing@health.gov.ie.

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