PROBLEMS FACED by older residents of the Border counties in the areas of health, social services and transport are being exacerbated by the North-South divide, a new report has claimed.
Elderly people living in remote areas close to the Border are living with insufficient and infrequent transport services. Others had to travel long distances for medical attention because they could not access services closer to home as they were on the other side of the divide, it found.
Rural isolation was another issue highlighted in the report, as many elderly people feel increasingly cut off from everyday life because of the decrease in local banking, post office and pharmacy services. Fears about crime and safety were also cited among elderly communities.
The report by social researcher Brian Harvey is the culmination of the EU-funded Positive Ageing Cross-Border Project. The project was run by Age Action and Age Concern Northern Ireland, with funding from the European Union Interreg III programme.
The report comes as Irish society moves toward great demographic change – by 2050, it is expected 29 per cent of the State’s population will be aged over 60.
Barry O’Keeffe of the Positive Ageing Cross-Border Programme said he was not surprised by the findings of the report and called for more “joined-up thinking” to bridge the Border. “A man on the Monaghan-Tyrone border in Aughnacloy said he could see the health centre from their window but had to travel 20 miles in his own jurisdiction.
“There are examples of joined-up services in other European regions, in border regions of Germany and France, for instance, so I don’t see why we can’t have them here.”
The report recommends a cross-Border approach to the provision of health, educational and social services, the extension of rural transport services, assistance for isolated individuals and it calls for dialogue between voluntary organisations, the PSNI and the Garda.
