Campaign speaks up for pensioners

The "Older & Bolder" campaign in Ireland has clearly stated that they will not tolerate cuts to the old age pension. The statement said that reducing the old age pension would tantamount to an attack on vulnerable older people.

This assertion was made in response to the taoseach Brian Cowen's statement made on 14 May that he would not rule out such cuts to the old age pension.

The director of Older & Bolder Patricia Conboy said that the cuts would be "stubbornly resisted by older people and a concerted nationwide lobby of politicians will now get underway through Older & Bolder’s eight member organisations."

Members of Older & Bolder include Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Carers Association, Irish Hospice Foundation, Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, the Older Women’s Network and the Senior Help Line.

Ms Conboy said: "The Government’s argument seems to be that older people on non-Contributory State Pensions are vulnerable and all other older people are secure and indeed well-off." She substantiated this by saying that the government were assuming that the only older people who are vulnerable are the ones on non-contributory state pensions and all others are comfortably secure. 84 per cent of pensioners, aged 65 to 74 years she said, depend on social benefits, including the state pension as protection against poverty.

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