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'Action needed' to protect elderly From
BBC news online September
17, 2003 The government must
take more action to protect elderly people in the community, the
Democratic Unionist Party has said.
The
meeting followed an attack on a 96-year-old woman and her daughter at
their home in Tullylish outside Gilford, County Down, earlier this week. North
Belfast MP Nigel Dodds said too many senior citizens were "living in
fear" in Northern Ireland. "Newspaper
and television reports of horrific assaults on some 80 and 90-year-olds
has created a climate of fear amongst elderly people who feel isolated and
vulnerable," he said. "We
urged Mr Spellar to work in tandem with the Security Minister, Jane
Kennedy, to implement a comprehensive community safety strategy so that
voluntary groups, the police and statutory agencies can work to ensure
that older people feel safe in their own homes." The
former Stormont social development minister called for an Older Persons'
Commissioner to be appointed to co-ordinate organisations which provide
services for the elderly and to monitor the quality of their work. Mr
Dodds also called for a senior citizens charter to be implemented. "Our
delegation took the opportunity to ask the minister to implement the
senior citizens charter which supports the provision of free travel on
public transport for everyone over 60," he said . "It also
supports the provision of free personal and nursing care for older people
similar to that provided in Scotland and the delivery of free TV licences
for all aged over 65."
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
The
party outlined their concerns during talks with the Minister for Social
Development, John Spellar.