Statements on Ageism - 17th May 2006

Statements on Ageism - 17th May 2006

Mr. Norris: As someone who has almost
reached the age of 62, I have a vested interest in
this issue.
Ms O’Rourke: The Senator is only a child.
Mr. Norris: I feel a certain sense of triumph at
my survival to this age, although I have reached
the point where I review death notices with
increasing interest. I pay tribute not only to the
agencies mentioned in the Minister of State’s
speech but also to Age Concern, with which I
have worked, on its efforts to inform the general
public.
I have noticed that men seem to die very soon
after retirement, one of the reasons for which is
because they lack interests. We should prepare
people for retirement by encouraging them to
broaden their interests beyond a tunnel like focus
on their jobs. It is important that we provide
such training.
The Minister of State referred to the refusal by
insurance companies to provide insurance to
those over the age of 70. I have heard a number
of complaints from tourists on this issue. Ireland
receives a lot of American tourists who, although
over the age of 70, are competent to drive. These
visitors are automatically refused insurance cover
without being tested in any way. That has an
impact on our tourism industry.
As regards our general attitude towards older
people, when the nursing home problem was
raised in this House, old age pensioners living in
homes were insultingly advised that they could
retain a certain amount of pocket money. We
have to be careful not to patronise by using terms
such as “pocket money”, which reduce the status
of older children to the level of children. I was
asked by Age Concern and other groups to make
a short radio insert about the mistreatment of elderly
people and, mea culpa, I told a story about
my adored aunt. When she was in her late 90s
and living in a nursing home, I decided to recover
an 18th century wing armchair as a birthday
present. I thought I was doing the devil and all
but she was absolutely livid with rage and accused
me of destroying the chair. That was not the case
because the cover she claimed was an 18th century
original was in fact a piece of horrible
Edwardian fabric. However, the real reason for
her anger was that I had taken her last vestige of
control over her life and the disposition of her
goods. I was extraordinarily insensitive to do so
and I learned from the experience not to make
these kinds of interventions without consulting
the people concerned.
It is a source of concern that public nursing
homes are not subject to inspection because I
think the incidence of bed sores is frequent
among elderly people in these homes. This matter
should be thoroughly investigated in light of the
scandal caused by the inspection of private nursing
homes.
Some years ago, Sandymount’s 102 year old
postmistress stopped driving after being crashed
into by another driver. She said she had to retire
because road manners had deteriorated too
much. In her own mind, she was still capable of
driving but she was worried about the bad behaviour
of other road users. That is an example of
the spirit of older people, whose ranks we will all
join if we are lucky.