We are a proud member of The Alliance of Age Sector NGOs since its formation. The Alliance represents the collective thinking of seven significant NGOs working in the age sector, uniting their learning from working with the diversity of older people and the issues that older people face. The seven-member organisations are Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity, ALONE, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Irish Hospice Foundation, The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Third Age.
Why an Alliance of seven national organisations?
Ireland is ageing fast, and our economy, health service, communities and families need to adapt. Although many Government Departments and Agencies play an important role, we still need to have a coherent, active and measurable national strategy supported by a structured, whole-of-government, cross-Departmental approach with senior-level Government engagement and oversight.
Telling It Like It Is; Combatting Ageism
In January 2023, The Alliance of Age Sector NGOs launched its 2023 Report, ‘Telling It Like It Is; Combatting Ageism,’ which set out why Ireland needs to take ageism seriously and take meaningful action to counteract it. The report highlights the nature and impact of ageism in Ireland and offers several evidence-informed strategies to reduce it.
The nine actions include:
- Establishing a Commissioner for Ageing and Older People.
- Developing a Media Language Guide.
- Developing a joint Government-Alliance-led awareness campaign.
- Identifying and revising existing ageist policies and practices to reduce ageism and address age discrimination.
- Invest in education and training interventions to reduce ageism.
- Facilitating intergenerational contact interventions.
- Investing in Data Gathering.
- Supporting the private sector to develop and implement interventions.
- Developing the capacity of employees and employers to detect, report, and respond to ageism.
What is Ageism?
Ageism means that older people are often associated more with the past than the future. Ageism refers to the stereotypes (thinking), prejudice (feeling) and discrimination (action) directed towards others or oneself based on age. Not all of it is deliberate; unconscious bias about older people pervades Irish society.
