CSPA Northern Ireland Branch Secretary Tony McMullan ( far left of photo ) and Vice-Chair Joan Moss (far right of photo) recently attended a meeting , in Downpatrick , County Down , hosted by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Older People Eddie Lynch. Beside Tony is the former Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance (NIPSA) Deputy General Secretary Kieran Bannon.
The meeting discussed a range of items of concern to Older People including: Ageism; the Triple Lock on State Pensions; the Impact on of the Pandemic on older people; and the proposed changes to public transport concessionary fares.
As reported in the Autumn issue of The Pensioner magazine, the Commissioner Eddie Lynch recently succeeded in a legal challenge to a decision of the NI Department of Health which would have denied funded healthcare to many pensioners on the basis of their response to a new question as to whether the individual`s healthcare needs “could be met properly in any other setting than a hospital”. The Judge quashed the policy on the basis that it was adopted “in breach of its obligations to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between persons of different ages“.
CSPA is campaigning with other pensioner organisations for a Commissioner for Older People in England, and one in Scotland, to independently promote the interests of older people and challenge Government policies where necessary.
