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Older people have expressed the heightened challenges they faced during COVID-19 and called for a post-pandemic focus on regaining their positive role in society according to a new review recently launched. The review draws together seven leading older persons organisations to capture the experiences of older people during COVID-19, the impact it had on their lives – and what now needs to happen to address this. Telling It Like It Is was released by the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs (the Alliance), who are working collaboratively to concentrate a shared focus on progressing policy, services and resources with older people. The analysis explains how many of the events that happened during the COVID-19 crisis affected older people disproportionately including:
• Older people died disproportionately. Frequently their end-of-life wishes were not sought or honoured. Dying with dignity is the hallmark of a decent society. • Older people were bereaved disproportion ately. Restrictions on funerals, bereavement and consolation caused deep distress that will reverberate for a long time. • Older people’s independence and deci sion-making was reduced disproportionately. Life became a series of instructions from others. • Most older people felt that underlying ageism was heightened – that they were being cancelled. Sue Shaw said the Alliance was now calling on Government to:
• Take ageism seriously and implement meaningful action to counteract it • Institute a coherent system of supports so that older people can stay in their own homes to the end of life, as that is what most want to do • Appoint a Champion with a cross-Depart mental brief to prioritise older people’s issues.
Looking to the post-pandemic period she said regaining the positive role of older people now needs to be an integrated part of Government planning.
‘What older people want are connection, friendship, dignity, choice and support – ordinary aspects just like everybody else. Most older people also want to stay in their own homes and communities until the end of their lives’.
The Alliance of Age Sector NGOs (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 they 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.
Telling It Like It Is is available to download at: https://alzheimer.ie/creating-change/ awareness-raising/alliance-of-age-sectorngos/ Or telephone Ronan Cavanagh, 086 317 9731 - ronan@cavanaghcommunications.ie
‘Do it yourself’ wills package
A new service launched by MoneyDoctors. ie ‘empowers’ Irish residents to avail of a Wills & Probate - a do-it-yourself service package that
1. Allows Irish citizens to draft their own wills ( a word document sent to them – completed on their own lap tops, or printed off and written in their own hand-writing ) 2. Empowers them to authorise their representatives or executors/trices to apply for the Grant of Probate without paying for costly legal support all the info needed is sent in the pack.
The package cost €50 plus 23% VAT – a total of € 61.50. For further information, call John Lowe 087 238 1122 or email jlowe@moneydoctors.ie
Huntingdon Castle, part of the Carlow Garden and Food trail Artisan food and beverage producers in Carlow have teamed up with a host of heritage ‘big house’ and castle owners to provide tourists with a new offering from ‘the belly of Ireland’. A new discovery trail has been launched for Irish staycationers which links Carlow’s new wave of artisan food and beverage producers with the county’s mythical heritage. The Taste In Carlow Discovery Trail is a guide to 26 of the hidden food and beverage gems in the county, from unique producers to food adventures and quirky experiences. Along with the food and beverage producers, the county celebrates a wide selection of heritage houses with lush gardens to walk, many of which are now quirky and history-soaked restaurants with accommodation. Download the trail map at tasteincarlow.ie Trail members: Ballykealey House, Blackstairs Eco Trails, Butler's Organic Eggs, Carlow Farmhouse Cheese, Carlow Farmers Market, Coolanowle Foodhall, Corcoran’s Bar, Émile Pâtissier, Gaelic Escargot, Huntington Castle & Gardens, Lennons@VISUAL, Lisnavagh House & Gardens, Malone Fruit Farm, Mulvarra House, Seven Oaks Hotel, Shapla Indian Restaurant, Sha-Roe Bistro, Sunshine Juice, Teach Dolmain, The Good Life Cookery School, The Lord Bagenal Inn, The Mullicháin Café, The Pint Depot, The Step House Hotel, Thrive Cafe and The Woodford Dolmen Hotel.
400 Euro offered to take part in turmeric Study
A new study by Atlantia Clinical Trials will investigate if and how turmeric can boost memory in older people. They are currently seeking 150 people aged from 65-85 to take part in the trials and arfe paying a fee of 400 Euro.
The study will clinically assess the effectiveness of a daily turmeric supplement in boosting cognitive function in older people and will take place over 24 weeks and involves taking a daily turmeric capsule, with four visits to the Atlantia premises in Cork , where free health checks will be undertaken to confirm eligibility. These include basic measurements of weight, height, BMI, waist-hip ratio and vitals including blood pressure, heart rate and temperature, along with a blood sample. consuming the natural turmeric root, which is more commonly recognised as the vibrant yellow spice used in Indian cooking. Turmeric is rich in a compound called curcumin which is an antioxidant meaning that it can protect cells against damage caused by free radicals, and it is also well known for its anti-inflammatory properties which have been long used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. If you are getting older and are worried about memory and mental agility, it’s useful to know what is normal and what is not. As with any changes as we age, the unknown can be daunting - after all our memories are linked to who we are as people, our identity, and our social interactions. You may find it takes longer than before to learn something new, you occasionally forget a word or a name, and now and then you might misplace an item like keys, wallet or phone and start to feel a little self-conscious about it and wonder if it a normal part of aging or the first sign of more serious memory problems. Science backed tips to preserve memory capacity include: • Following a healthy diet • Taking regular exercise • Not smoking and keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum • Staying involved in activities that can help both the mind and body. • Learning a new skill. • Following a daily routine. • Planning tasks, making to-do lists, and using calendars and notes. • Putting your personal possessions in the same place each day. • Volunteering in the community (where social distancing allows). • Spend time with friends and family (where social distancing allows). • Getting enough sleep, generally seven to eight hours each night. • Keeping cholesterol and blood sugar in check. • Preventing or controlling high blood pressure.
For more information on the study visit: www.atlantiaclinicaltrials.com or email studies@atlantiafoodtrials.com, or phone: +353 021 430 7442.
Men’s Sheds Launch ‘Your Shed & Dementia’ Manual
The Irish Men’s Sheds Association has launched a new manual Your Shed & Dementia aimed at raising awareness of the condition, as well as offering advice for ‘Shedders’, their families and carers on supporting a member with dementia. Developed in partnership with the HSE’s Dementia: Understand Together campaign and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, the manual offers tools to help Shedders recognise signs of dementia, as well as offering practical communication and listening tips.
400 Dementia Types
frontotemporal dementia. It is also common for people to have more than one type of dementia. Each year more than 11,000 people develop dementia in Ireland – that’s approximately 30 people every day.
Ten Closure Orders served on food businesses in July
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported that ten Closure Orders and one Improvement Order were served on food businesses during July for breaches of food safety legislation.. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Seven Closure Orders was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on: • Spar (Closed Area: Deli Counter), Duff House, 13-15 Summerhill Parade, Dublin 3 • The King Pig Food Stall, 108 Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin 8 • Monto’s Restaurant, Main Street, Kilmessan, Co. Meath • Riverside Café, Mountnugent, Co. Cavan • Eskimo Pizza and Lam’s, 31 Deansgrange Road, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin • Fredis Pizzeria, 58 Dublin Street, Monaghan • Fredis Takeaway, 3 West Street, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan
Three Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: • Universal Food Store Limited (Closed Area: Butcher counter including coldroom) (butcher shop), Unit 5, Dunnes Stores Shopping Centre, Mountmellick Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois • The Burren Atlantic Hotel (Closed Area: Kitchen), Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare • Joud World Food (retailer), 13 O’Connell Street, Waterford
One Improvement Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: • Rico’s, 26 Richmond Street South, Dublin 2
Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in July include; rodent droppings where food, food preparation equipment and food packaging materials were stored; open bins filled with meat and surrounded by flies; food debris and grease on equipment and surfaces; aprons caked with blood and dirt; flies observed on sandwich preparation board; wet and dirty clothes strewn around a kitchen; internal fridges caked in food grime; no traceability information available to verify where food had originated; and inadequate pest control.
