Make Home Work: The right to age well at home

The Make Home Work Campaign was launched on November 23rd 2011, calling for the realisation of the right to age well at home and for a change in how we think, how we talk and how we act in relation to ageing and older people.

The Campaign took many twists and turns, here we highlight some of the key moments from the campaign for a complete picture of the campaign journey. For more see the please see the related blogs, resources and press releases on the panel to the right.

Together with thousands of older people around the country Older & Bolder campaigned for the right to age well at home to be made a reality and resisted the cuts to home help and home care packages. Activists used this campaign leaflet (PDF) and the points outlined below to frame their interaction with politicians.

As described in the overview page the MAKE HOME WORK campaign called for the retention of the supports and services that help us take an active role in managing our physical and mental health. 

Supporters from around the country joined the campaign with gusto and when cuts to home help and home care packages were announced they focused their efforts on resisting those cuts through the MAKE HOME WORK campaign. 

Report on Older & Bolder’s closing conference, incorporating presentations by guest speakers;  contributions from older people on their campaign experience; perspectives on use of the media and political systems for advocacy purposes; a timeline for Older & Bolder 2006 – 2013; and a practical guide to campaigning

Click here to read our commentary in last week's (June 4th 2013) Irish Times about how the regulation of homecare is lagging behind other areas: “It should be properly regulated in law and needs quality standards within a legal framework in the same way we now have in relation to nursing homecare.”

This report presents four research papers on legal aspects of older people’s right to care. The papers have been prepared for Older & Bolder on a pro bono basis by a group of legal professionals working through the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), a project of the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC).

Care in Old Age: Legal Perspectives (Download PDF: 534 KB) 

Budget 2013 will have a big impact on our shared MAKE HOME WORK goal of ageing well in our own homes. 

Members of the Older & Bolder alliance are calling for the fair implementation of the property tax.  The legislation before the Oireachtas today should take account of an individual’s ability to pay. This is a principle that applies to all age groups but we in Older & Bolder are particularly concerned about older people who own their own homes, who are now on low, fixed incomes and who are confronted with a new tax that takes no account of their circumstances.