Heated discussions at Pensioners Parliament
Pensioners demand action from government as pressures on older people increase.
After a year of controversial announcements focused on older people, the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament took place in Belfast on 22-23 May with around 200 older people from across Northern Ireland in attendance.
The Parliament, organised by Age Sector Platform, included some heated discussions on the Compton health review, crimes against older people and free travel, with issues such as ‘granny tax’ and pension reform also taking centre stage.
Over the two days of the Parliament, the Holiday Inn Hotel in Belfast became a hub for democratic decision-making as Members of the Pensioners Parliament (MPPs) voted on pensions, the rising cost of living, fear of crime, health and social care, and transport. Thirty-three motions were formally passed at the Parliament, receiving more than two-thirds support from MPPs.
Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Francie Molloy MLA officially opened the Parliament, with Junior Ministers Jonathan Bell MLA and Martina Anderson MLA responding to questions on the Programme for Government during the first morning. Claire Keatinge, the very first Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, also addressed the Parliament and answered questions from the floor in regards to her office and work so far. During a special Westminster session, Shadow Secretary of State Vernon Coaker MP spoke, with a panel of politicians from each of the main Northern Ireland political parties on hand to answer questions from the floor. These included Chris Lyttle MLA (Alliance), Margaret Ritchie MP (SDLP), Mickey Brady MLA (Sinn Fein), Michael Copeland MLA (UUP) and Jonathan Bell MLA (DUP).
The Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament was launched in 2011 as a truly bottom-up and democratic approach to identifying the main concerns of the older population.
Michael Monaghan, Chair of the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament, commented: “Since the Pensioners Parliament last year, we have worked tirelessly to ensure the motions passed have been taken seriously by our politicians and service providers. In November 2011, seventy older people gathered in the Senate Chamber in Parliament Buildings to present several of the motions to government ministers; whilst a delegation of older people also travelled to Westminster to meet with Pensions Minister Steve Webb and a cross-party group of Northern Ireland MPs. We believe this two-fold approach to our campaigning significantly influenced the Executive’s decision to announce a £10 million fuel payment package for low income pensioners in Northern Ireland, in December 2011.”
“We are also very pleased that a number of motions from last year’s Parliament made it into the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government, and were delighted to hear more from the Junior Ministers during the Parliament in relation to how those commitments will be implemented over the coming years.”
“The Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament has achieved a lot in a short time; and we hope that the motions from this year’s Parliament will be taken as seriously by our decision-makers. We are aware that a lot more needs to be achieved and, more than ever, the voice of older people needs to be heard by policy-makers so that older people receive a better quality of life.”
More photographs from the Parliament can be viewed online at www.agesectorplatform.org
For more information on the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament visit www.pensionersparliament.org or phone 028 9031 2089.
