I was delighted to be interviewed by the Irish Independent journalist Kim Bielenberg last week for his feature on Jobs for the over 65s. My input was on the far-reaching effects of mandatory retirement at age 65 and how it affected me.
The full article can be read here.
One-on -one informal learning at Age Action Getting Started programme.
One of the smartest moves I ever made in my life was to engage with modern technology. Computers, iPads, laptops, smartphones are far removed from my childhood experience of growing up in a rural area of north Donegal where we did not even have electricity. Our ‘wireless’ as our radio was then called, crackled away on the windowsill, running off big glass wet batteries!
The Internet is an amazing and beneficial global communication tool and one which often, regrettably, is not used by many of my generation. It used to be available only at fixed locations, such as in an office or a home. Now the word ‘wireless’ has a whole new meaning as it allows people on the move to have access to this great means of communication. It is vital that older people get into in this ‘new fangled stuff’ as it has the potential to change their lives in so many ways. In my case, it allowed me, living in relative rural isolation and with most of my family in Australia, to keep in contact with them for little or no cost, to make life simpler by doing such things as booking flights and hotels online, listening back to radio programmes I may have missed, and doing business such as paying bills and ordering goods online . It is a total life changer for older people.
Age Action, aware that older people often face ‘digital exclusion’ have devised training for older people on a one to one basis across a range of devices. Since 2006 Age Action has trained almost 30,000 people to get engaged with this life changing form of communication. I am particularly delighted to be involved in that activity as a volunteer trainer. Today in Midleton, Co. Cork we began our four-week training sessions in the local community centre. A great time was had, and I look forward to the next number of weeks encouraging others to share in the benefits of being online.
Students and trainers get down to business
Age Action runs classes in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Louth, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Cork, Kilkenny and Waterford and classes are also available in Meath, Westmeath, Clare, Kildare, Wexford, Galway, Kerry. – See more at: https://www.ageaction.ie/how-we-can-help/getting-started-computer-training/
Filed under Ireland
This is the first of three posts on my personal experience of mandatory retirement in Ireland.
Irish Labour TD (Member of Parliament) Anne Ferris has tabled a Bill to abolish mandatory retirement age. The Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill would prohibit employers imposing compulsory retirement ages on their employees. In November last, as a member of Age Action, I was asked to take part in their presentation at the Public Hearings of the Committee stage of the Bill at Leinster House,the seat of our Parliament, the Oireachtas, in Dublin.
Leinster House, Dublin. Ireland’s Parliament. (Image oireachtas.ie)
This was my first visit to the Oireachtas and it was appropriate that I was there on a mission about a matter very dear to my heart. I had to vacate my job on my 65th birthday. At age 64 and 364 days I was an acceptable employee, but one day later I was unemployable. My ‘shelf life’ was up; my ‘use by’ date had been reached. Indeed I was fully aware for a long time that my career would grind to a halt at age 65, but I had hoped against hope that new provisions whereby public sector employees who joined after 2004 would not have to retire at age 65, could be extended to serving staff members.This was not to be and my pleas fell on deaf ears. The mandatory retirement age of 65 in the public sector department in which I worked was written in stone, and so agreed with the trade unions. In some departments the mandatory retirement age is 60.
Most of my public sector work colleagues are delighted to retire at age 65 or sooner. Many of them have long service and look forward to the day when they no longer have to work for a living. Some of my colleagues however,dread the day when their earning power is decimated. Like me, they may have entered pensionable employment later in life or they may have been subjected to the highly discriminatory ‘marriage bar’ that only ended in Ireland in the early 1970s. (The marriage bar meant that upon marriage, female employees were no longer eligible to work in the public sector and banks). Shorter working lives means smaller pensions. On retirement, I suffered a loss of income of 75%, yet my household bills, my medical bills and my mortgage still had to be serviced out of the reduced income. As the Dickens character Mr Micawber famously stated in the book David Copperfield, “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds,nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
The Committee Lobby in Leinster House. (Image oireachtas.ie)
It was a privilege to be able to add my voice at the Public Hearings of the Committee stage of the proposed legislation at Leinster House and to hear the heartfelt submissions being made by other participants. Some fearful of losing their jobs at compulsory retirement age because of ongoing family commitments, such as children at university for example, mortgage to pay. Others simply wanted to be able to stay and continue doing a good job as they had done for some time, some angry at having to lose their jobs at a particular age, yet not qualifying for state pension for some years afterwards or despairing of a system that allows for the casting aside of a wealth of experience as with doctors and nurses in our health service, just because of an accidental birthday.
Below are links to the official tapes of the Public Hearings at Leinster House. The recording begins at about 34 minutes in, with Age Action opening statement at 36.50 and my (very wobbly) contribution at 39 minutes mark. .
https://oireachtas.heanet.ie/mp4/cr2/cr2_20151118T090000.000005.mp4
There are two further tapes covering all the submissions and discussions at
https://oireachtas.heanet.ie/mp4/cr2/cr2_20151118T090000.000006.mp4 and
https://oireachtas.heanet.ie/mp4/cr2/
In the aftermath of the submissions, I was asked to take part in a number of interviews by the media. Ocean FM, a radio station serving the Sligo/South Donegal area still has a podcast available at this link:
Donegal Woman Claims Age Discrimination At Being Forced To Retire From Job, NWT, Thurs, 19th Nov . I am unsure about how long the link will remain live.
Just before Christmas the Final Report to Government was published and can be seen here. The Report recommends a change to the existing law and we look forward to a time when this will become a reality.
Click to access Final-Report—Retirement-Age.pdf
I would like to express my thanks to Justin Moran and all the Age Action team who do such wonderful work in raising awareness of issues that directly affect the quality of life of older people in Ireland.
Filed under Age Action Ireland, Ageism, Ireland, Living in Ireland, Older workers, Seniors, Social Change, Social Justice
The Official Photo on the Seven O’Clock Show Set. L to R: Ian O’Reilly, Actor, Dermot Whelan,Comedian, Me, Marie Corbett, Lucy, Martin
As a result of the Women’s Way magazine article on Silver Surfers about which I wrote here, TV3, one of Ireland’s National TV Networks, invited us to take part in the The Seven O’Clock Show last night. So it was with a lot of butterflies in my stomach that I headed off on the three-hour drive to the Dublin Studios.
Marie Corbett, who featured in the article with me was quite honestly the most charming,funny lady I have met in a long time. It is easy to see why she is the pin-up girl for Age Action and seems to have an endless list of photo shoots and meetings with important people ,such as TV personalities and the President of Ireland no less! Marie began her cyber-career with the Age Action ‘Getting Started’ programme. Her daughter and grandchildren had moved to Armenia and with unreliable postal and telephone services,she was offered a second-hand computer to keep in contact with her family. Determined to come to terms with this new fangled technology, she says she challenged her very patient tutor, but I am certain he would have found her such a tonic that he loved showing her the ropes! Marie was awarded the ‘Most Dedicated IT Learner’ in Age Action’s 2009’s inaugural Silver Surfer awards. Enthusiasm is her middle name and she so deserves to be the Queen of the Silver Surfers in Ireland.
Marie with her lovely grand-daughter Adele .
It was a lot of fun being in TV3 studios – everyone we met from the receptionist at the door to the janitor when we left, was friendly and welcoming.The programme team were just lovely, very positive, very reassuring as indeed were the programme hosts, the beautiful and witty Lucy Kennedy and the very popular Martin King.
It is not often that older people get to feature on national television,so a A big ‘THANK YOU’ to The Seven O’Clock Show for having us there to hear why we embraced the internet and how it has been life changing for us. Hopefully we inspired others to make the leap and get engaged with modern technology and social networking. Age Action continues to organize ‘Getting Started’ programmes across Ireland to encourage older people to become familiar with this remarkable resource, right there at your fingertips!
The Irish Silver Surfers Queen and myself !
Marie and I are very conscious of the fact that we would not have enjoyed the success that we have had without the extraordinary work and dedication of Age Action, a charity for older people, that not only advocates for older people, but gets involved in the practical side of things too!
The programme can be viewed here for about two weeks from now, September 8 2015. Our segment is at about the 12 minute + point. Lots of ads!
Filed under Ageism, Ireland, Ireland and the World, Loneliness, Older & Bolder, Older Generation, Seniors
I was delighted to receive an invitation for myself and a guest to the award ceremony for the Google Silver Surfer Awards with Age Action, which took place in Dublin on Wednesday last. I was thrilled to be back in Google, with Louise, for the first time since I won the Social Networking Award in 2011, and to meet again with the stalwarts of Age Action – Robin Webster, Eamon Timmins and Pauline Power.
Google epitomizes everything that is young, innovative and fun. This is clear from the moment you step through the front door! All the more wonderful then that they sponsor the annual Silver Surfer Awards that celebrate older people and technology. A perfect marriage in many ways.
The ceremony took place in the spacious and comfortable state of the art Google auditorium. We were entertained by the talented Bugle Babes with their Andrews Sisters type repertoire and harmonies, and their (perfectly straight) seamed stockings (George Hook checked them out).Their singing was beautiful and well enjoyed by everyone!
The ever young George Hook, broadcaster, journalist and rugby pundit hosted the ceremony with great wit and humour, and Mr Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources attended – both of whom are, appropriately enough, Seniors. Minister Rabbitte expressed the wish that no senior citizen be left behind in this era of instant communication. Sinead Gibney, Social Action Manager with Google, and Robin Webster, the indefatigable Chief Executive of Age Action were also present. Sinead treated us to a reading of the poem ‘When I am old’, which can be seen on my blog page here . Pauline Power who operates the Getting Started Programme with Age Action and Anne Marie Walsh, the Event Manager, ensured that things flowed smoothly.
And so to the fabulous people whose terrific achievements were to be honoured at these awards. There were several categories as follows:
New to IT Award
A person over the age of 50 who is new to technology and has overcome challenges to become an IT user
Finalists were:
Austin was the winner of this category. His story is inspirational – having left school early he had some catching up to do in later life and this he did using technology. He has written a biography for his family.
Hobbies on the Net Award was next with 5 finalists
An older person who uses the Internet to pursue their passion or hobby or who uses IT for communication and social networking
I was particularly interested in this category as my ears pricked up when I heard the name Seamus Harkin from Creeslough. Creeslough is 7 mile s from my home village of Carrigart, Co Donegal. On an all-too-rare visit back to my roots this summer, we were in search of the site of a former 19th Century Revenue Barracks in Creeslough. We were given Seamus Harkin’s phone number. Seamus Harkin is all things Creeslough and is a highly respected fountain of all sorts of historical knowledge in this particular area He was most helpful and accommodating. We spoke several times by phone, but I had not met him until today, so that was a particularly pleasant meeting! Thanks again Seamus for sharing your knowledge and time with us.
Seamus is known as the Singing Undertaker at home and he fixes fiddles as a hobby- how interesting is that! Well done on this achievement Seamus agus Tír Chonaill Abú!
IT Tutor(s) of the year
An individual or group of any age who provides voluntary support to older learners. Anne won this award for her work in upskilling some 40 tutors. Anne is from Louth and were other nominees – Drogheda & District Support 4 Older People. Small county with big hearts for older people!
Golden IT Award
An individual over the age of 80 who uses technology to enhance their lives
I love the Golden category – here are people of advanced years who have engaged with what can be a challenging medium – perhaps they came to it after losing a life partner – and here they have found a new way of doing things, new ways to keep in touch, and have enhanced their lives. Michael was the winner this year. He has long been an advocate of technology and encourages older people especially to use it . Michael has a blog The Commonplace Book that is worth a visit for the quotes alone! The judges for all of these categories had a challenging task to pick just one from each of these categories as they are heroes all!
Google Silver Surfer Award
An older person who embraces the Internet or technology with a sense of fun and adventure.
The winner of this over arching award was David, who has become something of a techie since his retirement and has indulged his passions for music and digital photography, and entertains his grandchildren with his technical expertise! With Apologies to Maura and Fred for the blurred photographs. Michael in this category was an inspiration to all of us – he suffered a stroke but then used his experience to help others and technology is a perfect medium for him. Well done to you all!
This is an appropriate place to give a huge shout out for Age Action Ireland This is a n Irish Charity that promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people. Age Action is regularly in the news headlines speaking out about issues that affect all of us who are older and more vulnerable. Ageing is an issue that hopefully will affect all of us of every age. Do drop in to their webpage here to see the wonderful work that they do, – work that enhances the lives of thousands of people and of society as a whole.
At a delicious and beautifully presented lunch afterwards ,entertainment was provided by the excellent and splendidly named barbershop quartet, the Sea Sharps .
It was a great event and hearty congratulations again to all the finalists – winners all!
As we left the premises,I couldn’t resist taking a shot of the decoration in the washrooms.
The very colourful landing with floor, walls and ceiling covered with faces – after all that is what Google is all about – people of ALL ages!
Further biographical info on the winners can be found here
Thank you Google, and thank you Age Action!
Attended by 1,150 people, followed through internet live-streaming by another 4,000 and, with more than 1,000 social media contributions, I was honoured, thrilled and humbled to be part of the Digital Agenda Assembly in Brussels on 21 and 22 June 2012.
The e-Inclusion Awards were established by the European Commission in 2008 ‘to discover and celebrate organizations and individuals across Europe who champion new technology and harness the potential of the internet as a means of improving prospects, increasing employability and meeting today’s complex social and economic challenges‘.
Finalists Brochure
As one of only three finalists from across Europe in the category ‘ I am Part of IT ‘ Personal Stories’ -(Larger Organizations) ‘ I was nominated by Age Action Ireland as a result of winning the Google /Age Action Silver Surfer Award, Social Networking category in 2011 . Age Action is an Irish national charity which promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people. It actively encourages older people ( age 55+ ) to embrace social media. Their ‘Getting Started’ programme, spearheaded by the inspirational Pauline Power, promotes active e-inclusion and has been rolled out to over 6,000 people in the past four years. Nominated as a finalist from entries from 34 countries, Pauline accompanied me to the Digital Media Agenda conference in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Day 1 was devoted to workshops, and our invitation was specifically for the Social Media workshop and feedback sessions, with day 2 seeing the plenary sessions in the European Parliament chamber itself. Here we were honoured to be among delegates to greet Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda for Europe, after her very eloquent address to the assembly. Among the academics, industrialists, politicians and social groups participating were Professor Luciano Floridi from University of Hertfordshire and University of Oxford, Harry van Dorenmalen chairman of IBM Europe, Gyula Vamosi leader of the Roma (Gypsy) community ; Anna Maria Darmanin , Vice President European Economic and Social Committee.
Whilst the conference focused on the ‘big picture’ with regard to the information society and the breaking down of barriers to e- inclusion for all citizens of Europe, it is the ways in which ordinary people access and use the internet that demonstrates just how well the high level goals are making a difference to everyday lives.
Anna Maria Darmanin from Malta presented the e-inclusion awards in the four categories.
There were 3 finalists in each of 4 different categories
I am part of IT – Personal stories, small organizations (< 19 employees).
The three finalists were
I am part of IT – Personal stories ,big organizations(>19 employees)
The three finalists were
Be part of IT – small organizations .
Finalists were
Be part of IT – big organizations.
The three finalists were
The judges felt that both the Barcelona Activa and Information Society Development Foundation from Poland were such extraordinary projects that touched the lives of so many, both were declared winners.
Anna Maria Darmanin, Vice President European Economic & Social Committee (on extreme right) with finalists in the e-inclusion awards.
Each finalist had a wonderful story to tell. Each story was thoroughly inspirational, and each story was a tribute to the perseverance and dedication of ordinary people who through personal efforts and dedication, made their own lives and the lives of others, extraordinary.
I am grateful to Age Action Ireland for nominating me and especially to Pauline Power who was with me in Brussels; to my son Damian, author of his own excellent blog http://irishamericancivilwar.com/ for encouraging me to get started and for his support in setting up this blog, and to the over 20,000 visitors to this site. Thank you all!
Filed under Ageism, Older workers, Retirement Age, Seniors, Social Justice, Social Networking, Social Policy
The European Commissions e-Inclusion Awards finalist brochure has been published. Here are fascinating and humbling stories of people who have overcome exclusion and disadvantage and launched themselves into a whole new world by joining the digital revolution. The stories are brief but inspiring and have lessons for us all. I am looking forward to meeting these amazing people in Brussels when we will all be guests of the European Commission over the next couple of days. My good wishes to all!
To read about all finalist s click here
Filed under Ireland, Social Change
June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – established by the United Nations to raise awareness of Elder Abuse within society. We in Ireland are very aware of even more allegations of physical abuse in a care centre, as reported last week in the media. Elder abuse is on the rise with almost 1,900 cases reported in 2009. 
A new report just published draws on feedback from older people themselves. Interestingly for those of us on the brink of being ‘older’ they recognize that changes in relationships and dignity happen at a subtle level, and often over a period of time. As mental and physical capacity diminishes, dependence increases, and older people become aware that as their vulnerability increases, so it becomes easier to mistreat them or harm them.
Abuse of the elderly can manifest itself in many ways: Physical, Psychological, Financial, Sexual or Neglect. Often it is perpetrated by someone well known to the elderly person.
Elderly folk love visits and good conversation. If you know of an elderly person who may be vulnerable, do visit often and establish a bond with them so that they may confide in you if all is not well.
The study entitled ‘A total indifference to our Dignity‘ was funded by the Center for Ageing Research and Development and produced by Age Action Ireland.
Filed under Ageism, Healthy Living, Loneliness, Older Generation, Seniors
Finalist in European e-inclusion awards
A SILVER VOICE FROM IRELAND 