Older people in the North West have said that they are seriously concerned about being treated like second class citizens compared to their counterparts in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, the Age NI charity have said.
“It’s difficult to believe, but right now in Northern Ireland, it is still legal to discriminate on the grounds of age, in relation to goods, facilities and services, unlike GB and RoI,” said Linda Robinson, Age NI Chief Executive.
“This means that older people, on a daily basis, are being denied access to vital health services such as cancer treatments, mental health care and cardiology surgery.
“Many others are refused credit cards, loans or made to pay higher insurance premiums solely because of their age.”
Karen Scrivens, Chair of North West Ageing Well Together, the network for older people in the Strabane and Derry region added: “Age discrimination is an everyday occurrance for too many people. “The stories within the position paper demonstrate what we hear all too often from members of our network.
“Recent research by Age NI shows that 71% of people believe that full protection from discrimination on the grounds of age must be an urgent priority for the NI Assembly and 77% of people are calling for leadership from the Assembly on the issue.”
For more information visit ageni.org/ageism
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