Pictures: Great turnout for Kilkenny Older People’s Council annual conference and services expo

Over 170 members and 30 guests attended Kilkenny Older Peoples Council's annual conference in the age-friendly Ormonde Hotel on Thursday.

The celebration, which this year focused on providing information to OPC members from all corners of Kilkenny City and county, heard from various speakers, and there were 12 manned information stands.

Mary O' Hanlon, chairperson, acted as MC for the day. She provided informative introductions for all speakers, as well as the event arrangements.

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Michael Doyle said he was delighted to be invited to address the gathering. He recalled that Kilkenny County Council has been hosting the Age Friendly Programme since 2016 but it has been an active participant since 2009 when it helped to establish the Age Friendly Structures such as the Alliance, the programme office in Parliament Street, the extensive consultations with older people which led to the first five-year strategy, the programme’s launch, a second five-year strategy and an extensive programme of work by all of the partners who are represented on the Alliance.

Kilkenny Older Peoples Council was also set up and has become the voice of older people which can influence how services are identified, developed, planned, organised, and delivered to meet the needs of older people in the city and county. 

He commended the Older Peoples Council on having a strong voice through the wider membership and through its executive committee and he encouraged older people to use that voice and take part in the consultations and information events being arranged. 

"We can point to many successes, such as Kilkenny City being an Age Friendly City, St Luke's Age Friendly Hospital, MacDonagh Age Friendly Railway Station, McDonagh Junction Age Friendly Shopping Centre, all Kilkenny libraries being Age Friendly, this hotel - the Ormonde Hotel being amongst 60 age friendly businesses," he said.

“Kilkenny County Council received its Age Friendly Charter late in 2019 as it was recognised, along with all local authorities as contributing significantly to Ireland becoming the First Age Friendly country in the world. It was a fitting end to that decade of progress.

“We are now on the right side of the Covid pandemic, thankfully, and we are moving on now with the next phase of our Age Friendly programme” he said. 

Cllr Doyle highlighted that the next five-year plan will be prepared this year, and that the council has already held its consultations and sent the list of its needs over the next five years to be included in that plan. 

“You have a very active Age Friendly Programme here in Kilkenny. It has achieved a lot but there plenty more to be done over the next decade” he added. 

Lar Power, Chair of Kilkenny Age Friendly Alliance and Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council, attended his first Kilkenny Older Peoples Council even and he was warmly welcomed. He summed up his priorities  for Kilkenny City and county under one heading: 'Placemaking - making Kilkenny the best place for economic development, social development, cultural development and physical development'. 

He said his approach is 'do the right thing but keep it simple'. He commended the vibrant community spirit that exists in the county.

"We have to harness the wisdom of our older people and build a more welcoming society and in the light of its ageing population we all have to foster a culture of respect and build a more inclusive and age friendly society," he said.

Age Friendly Ambassador Nickey Brennan outlined his ambassadorial role as speaking up on behalf of older people when the occasion requires it. He highlighted the preparation of the new five-year strategic plan and encouraged delegates to get involved, make their submissions, and be heard. He outlined his five main issues to be addressed into the next five years 

• Age Friendly Parking - acknowledging that good progress has been made in Kilkenny City, but more age friendly parking is needed at key locations and in our towns and villages;
• Bus Services - extend the city bus services to Dunmore Park and Kilcrene Hospital;
• Ongoing development of the library service, all branches of which, are now age friendly-they are far more than just about books. There’s opportunities there for upskilling through new technology;
• Digital services are a challenge for many older people, particularly with regard to online purchases, including GAA match tickets - his comment that 'cash is king' was applauded;
• The business community should do more to facilitate older customers. He highlighted the purchasing power of the grey economy;
• He stressed the need to be psychical active so as to promote longer and healthier lives;
• Older people's housing in the Abbey Quarter would add greatly to the development of th ecity centre site.

Kilkenny Programme Manager Anne Marie Shortall provided details of her various roles including the age friendly programme. She highlighted some recent achievements and acknowledged initiatives including St Lukes Hospital, MacDonagh Railway Station, over 60 businesses involved in the Age Friendly Business Recognition Scheme and all of Kilkenny Library Services are now age friendly.

She said she was particularly pleased that MacDonagh Railway Station had achieved age friendly status, the first in Ireland and that it had won an award at the recent Age Friendly Recognition awards. She informed delegates that as a result of the positive publicity and very successful collaborate approach taken, Iarnród Éireann has now appointed an Age Friedly manager with responsibility to roll out a programme of age friendly railway stations, based on the Kilkenny model, across the country.

Regional Programme Manager for Age Friendly Ireland, Alice Corbett, drew delegates attention to the fact that the age friendly programme is an all-Ireland programme, and that Kilkenny is one of 26 county programmes. She said that Ireland is one of many countries across Europe and the rest of the world that works collaboratively under the auspices of the World Health Organisation to embed age friendly in the planning, design and delivery of services that are relevant to older people. She commanded the strength of Kilkenny’s Age Friendly programme, its Older Peoples Council, its executive committee, its Alliance, and the many projects which it has delivered. 

Delegates were given a presentation on a new service-Healthy Homes Co Ordinator, Kilkenny County Council. An innovative joint collaboration between the local authority service and the Health Service Executive, it has come to fruition in Kilkenny thanks to  the support of Age Friendly Ireland. The Age Friendly Healthy Homes project aims to address difficulties that prevent an older person residing in their own homes for as long as possible. 

With the assistance of a Healthy Homes Coordinator, Linda Kirwan, who has recently been appointed, a support plan is developed with the older person that provides a pathway to housing improvements, healthcare, financial wellbeing, energy conservation, community support and technical supports. These can range from DIY jobs, minor and major improvement works, befriending to combat loneliness, monitored alarms to provide security, GP referral and other care referral, form filling, improvement grants, and a wide range of other supports to enable a person to stay in their own homes. 

The project was piloted in nine local authorities and was successful. It is now being implemented in all 31 local authority areas including in Kilkenny County Council. The new Health Homes Officer, Linda Kirwan was introduced to the delegates.

Seamus Nugent, of Kilkenny Recreation and Sports Partnership, got delegates off their feet for some light leg, arm, back and body exercises, which was refreshing for both mind and body. He encouraged all older people if they are not already doing so, to start exercising. He suggested a five minutes’ walk/five minutes return firstly, followed by six minutes each way, followed by seven minutes and so on-in no time he said we will feel better, be healthier and enjoy life more.

Mary O' Hanlon presented the annual report. In her report, the chairperson outlined the role of Kilkenny Older Peoples Council as a representative group of older people, a formal structure established by local authorities as part of their Age Friendly Programme, that the executive is an elected committee, a unique opportunity for older people to be involved in local decision making, it is a recognised ‘voice’ for older people locally and nationally, a link between local older people’s groups and county Alliances and a group that delivers actions in the local Age Friendly Strategy.

She said that the Older Peoples Council provided a unique opportunity to get involved in national consultation and events.

She highlighted some of the main activities since AGM of May 2023 including 100 wellness care packs put together for older people living alone or feeling isolated-pilot exercise in St. Luke’s Hospital well received and positive feedback. Packs adjusted to encompass the needs of dementia patients also.All OPC Executive participated in Age Friendly Training for OPCs.

The Age Friendly Hospital Steering Group has been reactivated and we continue to work with St Luke’s Hospital to identify the needs of older people. The OPC continued working towards the development of a Hub for Older people.Articles were provided to Kilkenny People on a regular basis. Newsletters issued weekly by email from Age Friendly Ireland and monthly from the Older Peoples Council to OPC members.

“All our engagement is to ensure that the views of older people are considered in the planning, design, and delivery of services by the main service providers such as Kilkenny County Council, Health Service Executive, Gardai, library services, Education and Training Boards, Kilkenny Recreation and Sports Partnership, Kilkenny Leader Partnership, business community through the Chamber of Commerce," she said.

"All of these endeavours are to ensure that as we age we can continue to live with independence in our communities and that services are designed to enable this happen."

Eileen Ryan provided the financial report for the previous nine months both verbally and in writing. It shows that the main source of income is the Kilkenny County Council grant of €4,000, while main outgoings are the cost of the conference. The OPC finances show that its outgoing balance was €7,897 with some conferences costs still to be paid out of that.

Thinking Ahead-Rob O Connor, HSE South gave an informative account of 'Nora', who in later life, and with some memory loss, found that her well meaning family were making her decisions for her with regards to her care, her money, her health, and her funeral. Nora was not her real name. Would Nora have benefitted from some planning ahead?

Rob O' Connor was advising all older people to think ahead - think who will care for us, our place of care, who will manage our money, our legal arrangements, and our personal wishes, who will decide with us or for us. He advised that we have the conversation with those close to us and put our wishes down on paper-fill in the Think Ahead form. It will provide certainty for us, for our relatives and relieve some of the stress involved for all.

If anyone is worried about possible abuse of older people or need advice as to how to address a delicate situation the HSE Helpline is available free of charge,9am-5pm, Monday to Friday on 0818 101101.

Information Stands: Staffed Information Stands were provided by Kilkenny Fire Service, An Garda Siochana, Kilkenny County Library, ALONE, Carlow/Kilkenny Education & Training Board-Adult Literacy for Life team, Integrated Care of Older People team (ICPOP)-HSE, Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, Kilkenny Recreation and Social Partnership (KRSP),Healthy Homes & Housing Department of Kilkenny County Council, Psychiatry of Later Life team-HSE, Rink-a-Link, HSE Safeguarding and Protection team, Dementia Awareness HSE and Kilkenny Older Peoples Council. The Information stands were very popular amongst delegates and all staff very welcoming and informative. 

Special thanks
The Chairperson drew members attention to the full Executive Committee of the Older Peoples Council, and she highlighted their role on an ongoing basis. All present showed their appreciation to the committee. She thanked all of the speakers for their interesting speeches and presentations and those who manned the information stands.

Siobhan O' Brien provided IT support for the day, she was thanked by Mary O Hanlon as was Carlow/Kilkenny ETB which provided financial sponsorship of postal costs. 

Following lunch, there was an afternoon of music and song from local musicians Danny Webster, with a raffle for prizes generously donated by the Ormonde Hotel and the Executive Committee, for the enjoyment of all those who attended.