PEOPLE POWER:This week saw 15,000 'grey panthers' biting back on the streets of Dublin, after the government tried to feed the ailing Celtic Tiger by cutting over 70s' medical-card entitlements, writes Róisín Ingle
THE HEADY SCENT of older power was everywhere this week: at St Andrew's Church in Dublin, where it was standing-room-only as over 70s drowned out politicians with a tsunami of boos. On RTÉ's Liveline, where countless articulate and unbending senior citizens made potent arguments against the withdrawal of automatic entitlement to their medical cards. At a rally organised by the Irish Senior Citizens' Parliament in Dublin, where 15,000 older people cheered and waved banners bearing hard-hitting slogans such as "shoot us . . . it's easier" or "a budget to die for". The more tender slogans attracted attention too: "We, being old, have only our dreams, tread softly," read one.
It's fair to say, though, that the "softly" approach has been abandoned by a community appalled by the withdrawal of medical cards for the over 70s and subsequent backtracking; the government now insists that only 5 per cent of those with medical cards will risk losing the privilege.
Older people came out in their droves to show "silver solidarity", wielding "grey power" like a sword. But whatever you choose to call it, the outrage unleashed by the nation's older people has emerged as a significant political weapon that any savvy public representative can ill-afford to ignore.
This week's events have served as a sharp reminder to politicians that they should be courting this crowd of older voters, rather than antagonising them. While our population is currently slightly younger than the EU average, we are catching up fast. According to a recent Eurostat study, the country's population is expected to be significantly older in 2060, with a quarter aged 65 or over and one in 10 aged 80 or older.
Groups who work with and campaign for older people, many of them in need of funding, are likely to be strengthened by the current controversy. The rally in Dublin was organised by the Irish Senior Citizens' Parliament (ISCP), a political lobby group run by older volunteers, which was set up after a meeting at the European Parliament in Luxembourg in 1993. The ISCP has 460 affiliated organisations around the country, which represents more than 100,000 older people.
"It was suggested at the meeting in Luxembourg that to further democracy, a parliament for senior citizens should be set up in every country. We were the only country who actually went and did it," says Mairead Hayes of the ISCP.
Asked whether she has been surprised by the force of older people's reaction, she says, "we've been waiting for something like this for a long time . . . it's happened now with the medical cards because people genuinely thought it would never be taken from them, they just didn't believe it".
She believes the profile of the older people's movement has been gradually changing over the last decade and that these changes have led to the emergence of a dynamic political force. She cites the growing "independence" of the sector as a defining factor. "Where you used to be maybe organising supper dances in a local hall, people now want to go out for celebrations, expectations have changed across the board," she says. "You also see that older people are more careful about their health now, they want to monitor their health rather than illness. They want to stay put in their own homes for as long as possible so they do the things that will help them achieve that."
For Sylvia Meehan, a member of the National Council of Ageing and Older People and a campaigner with Age and Opportunity, it's all about confidence.
"Older people have become more confident, and I am thrilled that this confidence is expressing itself now," she says. "It's weakness that makes people quiet and that suits those in power."
Meehan is involved in Bealtaine, the older people's arts festival, which she believes has inspired and invigorated the sector. "When I give talks I remind older people of the powerful force we are. We need to remember that we have a gift as citizens of this country, we have the vote and we can do something with it. That's what you are seeing an expression of now," she says.
OLDER PEOPLE TRAVELLED from all over the country to the Dublin rally. Couples such as Andy (83) and Ellen Feeney (67) who arrived in the city by train from their home in Galway. "It was anger that got me here," says Andy, after breakfast in his hotel before the rally.
"At this hour of my life I could do without the hassle of being here, but I am offended and when I am offended I get very angry. It galls me entirely that the Government try to make out they are on the side of the vulnerable. Do they think we become senile at 70?"
He has been amused by all the new words and expressions the experience is teaching him. "This 'universality' thing, and this expression they seem to love which is 'moving forward'; well they are moving backward if you ask us," he smiles.
Andy was born in 1925 in rural Co Galway and spent his early working life earning half a crown a day as a farm labourer, eventually starting a job with the ESB when rural electrification offered the only other chance of employment. "And now they are trying to take money off me, a 1 per cent levy on the nest egg and the pension I paid into for 40 years. With the medical card they want to 'reassess' me, but we don't want to be reassessed again at this stage of our lives," he says. Jokingly, he told his children he was coming to Dublin so that they wouldn't end up paying for his funeral. "But it might not be a joke, the way things are going," he says grimly.
"It's definitely a turning point," says Eamon Timmins of Age Action Ireland. "This wasn't driven by the older people's groups around the country, this was driven by the older people ringing radio stations, e-mailing groups like ours, it was just people deciding they had enough. I don't think the government had any idea that they would get this reaction."
Kevin Molloy heads up Active Retirement Ireland, a network that up until now had not adopted an advocacy role. The organisation encourages older people to take up a wide variety of challenges, hobbies and social activities, which previously this group, especially in rural areas, would have been denied.
"Before this we were purely about encouraging older people to make the most of their lives. We were not the kind of group to read about an issue in the newspaper and say we are going to be up in arms about that," he says. "What changed I think was thousands of older people sitting in their armchairs when the Budget was read out feeling very insecure, feeling that the government and society was leaving them behind. My take on it is that the Celtic Tiger was jumping around out there the last few years, and all the grey panthers were hidden out there afraid of the tiger. With the tiger gone, they are no longer afraid to come out and out they came with their sticks, on their frames and in wheelchairs. Looking at the crowds on the street this week made me feel proud to be old."
Molloy believes a "line has been drawn . . . These people won't be ignored any more. There's a saying down the country 'if you hit a child, they won't forget it the rest of their life'. You don't hurt children and you don't hurt old people, and if you do they won't forget it quickly."
The fight is not over on the current issues, say the "grey panthers", and it will be interesting to observe what other campaigns they lend their considerable support to over the coming months and years. "I think we have realised that we hold a certain power but the key thing is not to abuse that power," says Molloy. "In terms of education, a lot of us were privileged to get the benefit of that and I could see the older community helping out with a campaign to ensure the proper education of our children and grandchildren. That's just one way we could go."
Sylvia Meehan says recent events have shown we are "still a country believing in family, it still matters to us. Margaret Thatcher said there is no such thing as society but we know that there is. You don't have to love all the people but you have to acknowledge that you need them. I think that's what this week has been about."
Fired up by a rekindling of the type of campaigning he used to do back in his trade-union days, 83-year-old Andy Feeney quotes Robert Emmet from the dock. "Emmet said: 'We will bow our heads and meet the fate that awaits us without a murmur.' That's what the government expected but there was a murmur and then that murmur turned into a massive roar. There is no going back."
BEHIND THE BARRICADES
THE IRISH SENIOR CITIZENS PARLIAMENTis a non-partisan political organisation working "to promote the views of older people in policy development and decision-making". The parliament is run by older volunteers who are elected annually by delegates from affiliated organisations. www.iscp.wordpress.com
AGE ACTION IRELANDis a national organisation on ageing and older people. It acts as a network of organisations and individuals including older people and their carers. It is a development agency promoting better policies and services for older people in an ageing society. The group's main aim is to improve the quality of life of older people. www.ageaction.ie
OLDER AND BOLDERis an alliance of eight organisations that champions older people's rights. During the last election the group campaigned for a National Strategy for Older People, collecting 30,000 postcards from members of the public supporting the campaign. Older and Bolder's immediate goal is the development of a national strategy that will support equality for older people and promote age-friendly public policy and practice. www.olderandbolder.ie
AGE & OPPORTUNITYworks in a broad range of areas "from the arts to physical activity, from challenging ageism to promoting greater empowerment by older people". www.olderinireland.ie
ACTIVE RETIREMENT IRELANDis the largest national network of local and community-based voluntary groups involving older people in Ireland. It aims to ensure older people "enjoy life, maintain dignity and independence, make new friendships, acquire new skills, share experiences and contribute to the community. We want Ireland to be the best place in the world for older people to live." www.fara.ie