Older & Bolder closed June 2013 This is an archived website
Caught in the web
An Older & Bolder report on older people’s battle with bureaucracy
The Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly today launched ‘Caught in the Web’ - an Older & Bolder report which shines a spotlight on the difficulties older people have in accessing vital information about access to public services.
“Isolation, sensory problems, lack of access to the internet, the failure of some service providers to offer adequate or appropriate information about their services all create barriers between the older person and what they need and are entitled to in order to get the most from their lives,” Ms. O’Reilly said.
Director of Older & Bolder Patricia Conboy called for a simpler system to be adopted to avoid the real hardship people are experiencing throughout the country.
“One man interviewed in the report waited a long time for a wheelchair and then got two on the same day. Older people should not have to battle with bureaucracy. They should be able to make a telephone call and have their query tracked through a central tracking system the same way you can if you buy a book on Amazon or buy a flight or send a registered letter in the post. This would not entail enormous expenditure and indeed may say money in the long run.”
