REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE IRISH ASSOCIATION OF OLDER PEOPLE’S CONFERENCE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE IRISH ASSOCIATION OF OLDER PEOPLE’S CONFERENCE
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniú. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
I wish to thank you for the warm welcome you have given to me today and for your kind invitation to be with you and open this very important conference, on “Choices In Independent Living For Older People In the 21st century”.
This, the UN International Year of Older Persons has been a radical call to a fresh, realistic and innovative focus on the latter end of our human life span. The latter end of a century, the latter end of a millennium is a particularly appropriate choice, because as quickly as we think of an era passing our imagination is captured by the possibilities opened up by the approach of another.
The process of ageing itself is about reshaping our lives to take account of our changing relationship with the world around us. For some growing older seems a seamless process, blessed with good health an optimistic outlook, a loyal social and family circle, financial security. Their story is a long way from the lonely, isolated, physically feeble pensioner who lives in fear and dread. The spectrum is wide which is precisely why this year of deliberation, debate and growing insight is so essential. Equally essential is that out of this year come the ideas, the plans, the distilled wisdom which will bring realisable hopes to our older citizens in the new millennium.
This has to be a year of encouragement, to view the future with a welcome. It is unfortunately true that our culture views ageing with some degree of suspicion, even fear. Too often age is associated with sickness and infirmity and one of the saddest images of old age is of an elderly carer growing more tired and worn out looking after an infirm elderly spouse. These are real images but today’s advances in health care and in developing support services means that these images need not be static - they need not be the case tomorrow.
What is more we need to look afresh at the enormous reservoir of talent, energy, experience wisdom and skill which resides in the 400,000 people aged 65 and over in this country. Creatively tapped we have an incredible potential which can be put to good use and our needs are many.
We should not forget amidst our current economic success the needs of the thousands of Irish people who remain trapped in the vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, exclusion and hopelessness. As others seem to gallop ahead the poor feel even more left behind than ever before.
We have a proud tradition of voluntary activity that has been so important in this country in the past. It is a tradition that springs from a time when we had little, a time that is not so distant and which many older people have personally experienced. If we are a first world country with a third world memory, the keepers of that memory are our older people, the conscience of our nation. So often they are also the hands of the work which needs to be done to show that we do really care about one another.
Both in Áras an Uachtaráin and in the many communities that I have visited around the country over the past two years since I became President, I have been meeting community groups and voluntary organisations who are using the experiences and talents of older people and harnessing that great reservoir of energy and skills for the benefits of others. In doing so, they are creating a new sense of self-worth - a confidence in life and living that is so important for people who have contributed to their family or community throughout their working lives, and who feel that they still have something very positive and useful to contribute.
The importance of that feeling of self-esteem and participation is vital in preserving an interest in life and in maintaining a strong sense of independence in a society where it is possible to become totally isolated in a community through simple lack of contact and dialogue with others.
A vision of ageing in the new millennium must, in addition to independence, also include the dimensions of social interaction; active participation and contributions; lifelong learning; self-development and self-fulfilment.
To adopt such a positive vision of ageing would not only ensure quality of life in old age but would also ensure that the potential of older people is realised and the knowledge and resources are used for the benefits of all and I want to commend you for the ways in which you are exploring that vision, fleshing it out and giving it new life.
Each yet unlived hour is an opportunity to make a real contribution to today’s Ireland. In his beautiful novel about the Korean War – entitled “I am the Clay”, the author Chaim Potok tells the story of an elderly couple, fleeing for their lives across icy mountains.
They waken each morning to find the dead bodies of their fellow refugees – dead from cold and hunger. The old handcart they used to help them across the mountain, to carry their bedding and bits of firewood is essential to them for survival. En route they meet a badly injured child and the old woman nurses him back to life against the old man’s better judgement. He is angry because the boy has to be fed and food is scarce. He is weak, has to be carried. But the boy grows strong. Later the wheel falls off the cart. All three are in danger of dying because they cannot go on to safety without it. The old man knows how to fix it but hasn’t the energy to scavenge for the materials he needs.
The young boy has no idea how to fix it but has the strength to gather the materials. Together, old man and young boy fix the cart – they make it to safety together. On their own, none would have survived but with the wisdom of the old and the strength of the young, a formidable partnership changed all their lives, created new chances, fresh opportunities.
This special year of focus on older people provides a wonderful opportunity to bring home that message – and indeed the message that older people are fully capable of learning new skills and taking on new ideas; that most are healthy and active and have an enormous amount to contribute to our society, that they have earned respect and space for their voices and endeavours in hard times and the hard way; Today’s Ireland is built on their lives, their sacrifices, they are entitled not just to credit for our transformed country but an important part of the action in cementing that transformation and making its benefits available to all.
By 2011 almost one in seven Irish people will be over the age of 65. I will not be too far away from it myself if God spares me. This vital and active sector of our society cannot be subtly reduced to silence. They carry special burdens, have suffered the loss and loneliness of losing partners and loved ones, they drift away of family, they move from a busy working life to retirement. They have had to navigate these huge changes in life and bring hope to the rest of us that these things are doable, manageable and that they bring their own new joys and hopes, their own little unexpected miracles.
In telling their stories of coping, living, surviving, succeeding, failing, learning, unlearning and learning anew our older citizens forge the paths, build the bridges we travel. They are due a huge debt of thanks.
On this your Fourth National Conference, I congratulate you on what you have achieved in the nine short years since your Association was formed. You are now the voice of over 1200 older people - putting forward their views, representing their interests, campaigning on their behalf, and defending the interests of the most vulnerable.
You have much to be proud of and I wish you continued success in your pursuit of real and humanly decent choices for older people. I have no doubt you will achieve much in the years ahead. I look forward to being a beneficiary!
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím gach rath agus séan ar bhur gcuid oibre san am atá le teacht.
Thank you.