Press Releases

It was a bittersweet day for Advocacy group Older & Bolder when the organisation hosted its closing conference in Croke Park yesterday. The main focus of the event was to celebrate Older & Bolder's achievements and to encourage its member organisations to tackle the further challenges and targets with renewed energy.

Older & Bolder director Patricia Conboy was adamant that she and her colleagues did not want a wake, instead they wanted to focus on the journey ahead for the older people who have supported their campaigns over the past...

The Government’s cynical decision to discontinue the Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant is today condemned by Older & Bolder.  Ms. Patricia Conboy, director of Older & Bolder said: “Successive Governments have been acting illegally in the implementation of these schemes for 12 years and have knowingly done so for the past 4 years. This current Government is now achieving legality with an action that defies logic and compassion”.  

Ms. Conboy continued:  “The current recipients of these benefits are exceptionally vulnerable....

Older and younger activists exchanged experiences, reviewed strategies and shared campaign stories at a joint workshop hosted by Older & Bolder and The Union of Students of Ireland (USI) on the 24th in the Ashling Hotel in Dublin. Both organisations had been very active throughout 2012, with Older & Bolder leading a national campaign to reverse the cuts to home help services and the USI campaigning against rising college fees and cuts to the maintenance grant.

Activists from across the age spectrum shared a frustration in...

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. 

Older & Bolder Director, Patricia Conboy said, “We are worried about...

Older & Bolder is alarmed at the changes in medical card eligibility criteria announced as part of Budget 2013.

Older & Bolder Director, Patricia Conboy said, “These changes will not yield savings from the wealthiest in our society, rather it is middle Ireland, older people on incomes just above the new threshold, particularly those living alone, that will be hit hardest by the loss of the medical card. Unlike the medical card, the GP cards does not offer the same access to a range vital supports including public health nursing, social work services, community...

Older & Bolder, which champions the rights of all older people, is today standing in solidarity with the Children's Rights Alliance in calling for a strong YES vote in the Children’s Referendum on Saturday 10 November.  Both organisations seek to highlight the challenges facing children and older people in living their lives with the dignity and rights that they deserve.  Niamh Walker, a grandmother and advocate for Older & Bolder, and Megan Smith a young person from Foróige, speak personally about why they are advocating for a YES vote.  This is a timely...

Older & Bolder at gates of Leinster House Thursday 18th October at 12 noon

Older & Bolder are today, Thursday October 18th, at the gates of Dáil Éireann, presenting signatures to a petition to Government calling for the immediate reversal of cuts to Home Help and Home Care Packages. 

Director of Older & Bolder Patricia Conboy, said, “Those in receipt of home help services are small in number but their response to the cutting of vital supports is loud and clear. In the words of one Dublin woman, “I could not survive at home without home...

The HSE cuts to home help hours are illogical and untenable. If these cuts go through, and when added to the cuts implemented in January, it will result in just under 1 million hours of home help support being withdrawn in this year alone. This will devastate the prospect of safe ageing at home. 

Not only are the cuts themselves a backwards step in terms of safe and healthy ageing, they also make no sense from an administrative or care management perspective.  

Director of Older & Bolder, Ms. Patricia Conboy today said, “The HSE...

Uncertainty and lack of clarity continue to be the order of the day for recipients of HSE Home Care services.  Following a statement issued today on behalf of Minister for Health, James Reilly TD, there is more confusion about the status of Home Help services and Home Care packages.

Director of Older & Bolder, Ms. Patricia Conboy today asked “What is going on? Is the HSE cutting Home Care services as announced a week ago or is it not?  What is the status of Home Help services and Home Care packages now that we are being told, on behalf of Minister Reilly,  that ‘...