‘Housing crisis had led to newer forms of elder abuse’

“Despite 37,000 supports to older people last year cases of elder abuse are rising in the community,” according to Frank Dillon, Communications Manager with ALONE.

Unfortunately there is a broad spectrum of behaviour that falls within the definition of elder abuse.

“Elder abuse manifests itself in many forms. It may be physical, psychological, emotional, financial, sexual, discrimination, or neglect. It may be controlling an older person’s pension, overcharging them for odd jobs or making them feel like a burden,” said Seán Moynihan, CEO of ALONE.

Given the complex nature of this type of abuse, its causes can be wide-ranging.

“It’s reflective of a lack of connections, a lack of contacts, as people become older, frailer their network declines,” said Mr Dillon.

Consequently, older people in this situation may become vulnerable when relying on others.

“Unfortunately, in many cases, elder abuse is carried out by people we already know and believe we can trust,” said Mr Moynihan.

There appears to be no pattern when it comes to elder abuse but there are some aspects of modern life in Ireland that is contributing to it.

“The housing crisis has led to newer forms of elder abuse, where people become reliant on the family home and where moving back in can become an issue,” said Mr Dillon.

“The Fair Deal Scheme which allows for rental income .. [that] can go towards a nursing home can leave people exposed,” added Mr Dillon.

Another contributing factor may be the rise in mental health issues amongst older people.

“Loneliness has always been there, but we are seeing more mental health issues amongst older people,” said Mr Dillon.

While Mr Dillon was reluctant to call out one area of the country over another regarding elder abuse he said that there may be certain variations.

“The type of abuse might be financial in some areas and in others emotional,” he said.

Mr Dillon also reflected on the complex nature of elder abuse. “The abuse could be financial, forcing someone to go into a nursing home, in truth the motivation could be financial, it may be a wider symptom of the housing crisis,” he said.

A recent piece of legislation dealing with the area of elder abuse is the Assisted Decision-making law which assists people to continue making their own decisions about their health, finances, housing, work or personal welfare, even if there are challenges in doing so.

While ALONE welcomes this law, it feels the government should be going further.

“The Adult Safeguarding legislation has become stuck, there was a commitment from the government to put it into the summer legislation list, we would like to see it implemented,” said Mr Dillon.

Like many forms of abuse elder abuse may not be immediately apparent. “Elder abuse is an insidious form of abuse that often goes quietly unseen and it is not talked about enough in today’s society. Older people with health, financial, and other difficulties can be particularly at risk,” said Mr Moynihan.

“If anyone feels that their health and safety is affected by elder abuse they should contact An Garda Síochána. If anyone needs support with aging at home they can contact ALONE, even if it is just a call and a question, or it can be more detailed, we can go out and do an assessment,” said Mr Dillon.