Minister Hoctor Welcomes The HSE Announcement Of The Establishment Of A National Research Centre For The Protection Of Older People, Ireland

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 12 Aug 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Máire Hoctor TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for Older People welcomed the HSE announcement of the establishment of a National Research Centre for the Protection of Older People. The Centre, which will be located within the Department of Nursing Studies in University College Dublin, is expected to be operational by September 2008.

In highlighting this important new initiative to support the HSE policy to address elder abuse, the Minister noted that"Elder abuse is a complex issue and is often difficult to define precisely. It may involve financial, psychological, physical or sexual abuse, or may arise due to inadequacy of care. It is therefore essential to promote interagency co-operation, involving all relevant statutory and voluntary agencies".

The Minister stated "abuse of older people is unacceptable in any circumstances and that is the message we have to get across at every opportunity. Tackling elder abuse effectively means a concerted effort by all involved in the welfare of older people to work together to have the procedures and tools to make that happen".

The Minister added that the Government is fully committed to developing the services needed to tackle Elder Abuse. In recent years there have been great strides in developing supports for older people who feel defenceless. Funding of €4.75 million has been allocated to implement the Elder Abuse Programme in full. The establishment of this new centre gives effect to one of the recommendations of the Government policy document,"Protecting Our Future: Report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse" and I therefore particularly welcome today's announcement".

Department of Health and Children, Ireland

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