According to the 2006 Census, more than 160,000 Irish people are carers looking after parents, siblings or chronically ill spouses. Those being cared for may be elderly, chronically ill or have an intellectual or physical disability.

 Not only is it a lonely life, it can also be an arduous one, both physically and mentally. Bernadette Brady, who spent years caring for her elderly mother, a dementia sufferer, wrote in the Irish Times last December: “I was working 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day in total isolation as a sole carer. I was on my knees with exhaustion.”

Lives curtailed
Tiredness is just one cross carers have to bear. A November 2008 report by the Care Alliance found that carers were more likely than the general population to report poor health and lower quality of life, and more likely to suffer from back pain (from lifting a disabled or frail person), depression and anxiety. They have little or no time for socialising or leisure activities, are constantly on call and are often sleep-deprived. They are often overwhelmed and their work goes unacknowledged.

The Carers Association estimates that three million hours of care are provided each week in Ireland by family carers, at a value to the State of more than €2.5 billion a year – a figure that is not included in Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP). Even this simple fact is a slight, say carers, who feel it’s just another way their contribution is unrecognised.

Punishing cutbacks
To heap insult upon injury, carers have been ever more poorly treated in recent years. The Government had plans to publish a national carer’s strategy, as promised under social partnership and the Programme for Government. This plan was abandoned in March 2009 in what the-then minister for social and family affairs, Mary Hanafin, described as a “difficult decision”. An outrageous decision would be more like it.

Then, in December, both carers’ allowance and carers’ benefits were cut in the budget by €8.50 a week. That might not seem like much but, for someone struggling to get by on little more than €200 a week, it was a significant cut. Still, carers had to count themselves lucky. Before the budget, the Government was also considering taking away the half-rate carers’ allowance, which is paid to those in receipt of another social welfare payment, such as a pension. That payment survived the cuts but it’s questionable if it will make it through another slash-and-burn budget.

Any cut to payments for carers is not only disgraceful but short-sighted. The cost to the Exchequer of these payments is far less than it would be to pay for full-time institutional care for the sick and disabled people concerned. If carers are not adequately supported by the State, they may not be able to continue caring full-time.

It seems entirely obvious that they should be given as much help as they need but the myopic authorities don’t always see it that way.

Need for leadership
In some cases, it’s not necessarily more money that is required but for someone “on high” to take responsibility of support for carers and put in place a standardised, over-arching system, rather than the uneven patchwork of help options currently available.

A home care package scheme, that can include anything from home help to physiotherapy to cash payments, is in operation. However, as Caring for Carers pointed out in February, this scheme is not available nationwide. It is implemented on an ad-hoc basis and there are no national guidelines for the operation of the scheme or admission to it.

Furthermore, although annual respite care grants of €1,700 are available to carers, the respite system is somewhat piecemeal, with care provided by the HSE in some areas and by voluntary organisations in others.

In any case, carers need more than a week or two’s respite a year. They need regular respite services, including some night-time respite care, so that they can, even once every so often, get a full night’s sleep.

Let’s care for carers
While improved State support for carers may be a long time coming, there is plenty that the rest of us can do for carers. They need practical and emotional support from family and friends; an hour off every now and then or a quick chat on the phone could make the world of difference to someone.

As our population ages, it’s inevitable that more and more people will become family carers, so it’s ever more imperative that their valuable role in society is recognised and rewarded.

Carers’ Week (www.carersweek.ie) runs from June 14th to 20th and comprises dozens of events for carers, including social outings

Useful websites
Age Action Ireland: www.ageaction.ie
Carers Association: www.carersireland.com
Caring for Carers: www.caringforcarers.ie
Care Alliance (an umbrella organisation for family carers’ groups): www.carealliance.ie
Carers.ie caters specifically for end-of-life carers

So, what do you do? Complain to family and friends? Tell everyone how much better things used to be back in the day? There is another option. You could actually do something about it.* (Yes, even in apathetic Ireland.)

Grannies on the rampage
You could, for example, follow the example of the Raging Grannies, a loose but flamboyant collective of older American women who campaign for peace, justice, and social and economic equality.

Sporting large, vividly-coloured hats and using street theatre to get their message across, the Raging Grannies protest on all sorts of hot-button issues, including banking reform, immigrant rights and the environment. As their website says, they deliberately set out “to shock with their unladylike antics” and they seem to have a marvellous time doing it.

The Grannies are part of a wider global movement that sees older people becoming actively involved in campaigns for social, political and environmental change. In 2008, we saw a powerful example of the energy and determination of older activists, when thousands took to Irish streets to protest against cuts to the medical card scheme. Ultimately, the government rowed back.

Elder activism
Elder activism, as it is called in America, has a long and proud history. In 1970, a lifelong activist named Maggie Kuhn was outraged at being forced to resign at the age of 65. In response, she founded an organisation to campaign for social and economic change. Initially known as the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change, it quickly became known as the Gray Panthers, because of the older profile of its members.

Since then, the Gray Panthers has been an influential activist group, particularly focused on health care reform, but has also campaigned on issues such as ageism, arms dealing, education, the environment, housing, public welfare and workers’ rights.

More recently, Grandmothers Against The War (GAW) has had a high media profile. With their catchcry of “Take us instead!”, GAW members have protested vigorously against the Iraq war, asking the US administration to send their grandchildren home and to dispatch them to the front line instead.

A leading older activist is our own much-respected former President, 65-year-old Mary Robinson. Among the many organisations in which she is involved is an independent group called The Elders, made of up of senior world leaders. The 10 members also include Kofi Annan and Desmond Tutu, while Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are Honorary Elders. They work both publicly and behind the scenes to help end conflicts and alleviate human suffering.

Get involved
But you don’t have to be a distinguished world leader or have such lofty goals to be an activist. You can become involved in a local community group or small activist organisation. You can write letters, hand out flyers or help to organise information meetings. All you need to be an activist is time, energy and some firmly-held beliefs.

There are many Irish groups, from human rights campaigners to eco-warriors to animal rights crusaders, who are always appealing for volunteers and would be delighted to have some experienced individuals help with their cause. If you’re not sure where to start, have a look at the Volunteering Ireland website (www.volunteeringireland.ie), which lists plenty of opportunities to help with campaigns.

Not only is activism good for the world, it’s also good for you. It provides a social outlet and is a way to meet like-minded people. It can also to lead to an improved sense of self-worth from the quiet gratification born of helping someone people and the sense of deep satisfaction that comes from contributing towards positive change.

So do yourself a favour. Get active and help make the world a better place. Stll not convinced? Then think about all the ripples that might be created when you drop this one activist pebble into the world’s great big pond.

*Article inspired by Martin Luther King Day in the United States, January 18thUseful links

www.raginggrannies.com            Raging Grannies
www.graypanthers.org                 Gray Panthers
www.gawba.org                              Grandmothers Against the War (GAW)www.theelders.org                        The Elders
http://iscp.wordpress.com         Irish Senior Citizen’s Parliament
www.volunteeringireland.ie     Volunteering Ireland

Writing today’s column hurts. I don’t want to admit what’s happened to me. It seems so silly because this occurs to most of us eventually.

Ok, here it is (deep breath): I found my first grey hair recently. Big deal, right? Most people I tell say things like: “My cousin went grey at 18” or “I’ve been dying over my grey hair for the last ten years.

Oh, there had been some foreshadowing; I can’t deny that. Over the summer, my tactful hairdresser Jean said: “At some stage in the next few years we’ll need to think about covering over grey.”

I completely dismissed the comment “No, my mom’s hair was dark and she did not go grey until she was in her fifties.” No doubt Jean – who is my exact age – had seen the grey hair among the blonde highlights but didn’t want to say anything. She let me find it myself a few days later. This is a bit like finding out you were wearing baby vomit on your suit after you had a meeting with your boss asking for a raise. The horror.

Now, in these recessionary times you’re probably saying what’s the big deal about one (ok, now maybe it’s two) grey hairs. I will save money on highlights, right? And aren’t I lucky I have hair at all?

Panic stations
People who know me find my panic totally bizarre. I’m not overly fussed about my appearance. I drop the kids to school every morning and I rarely wear makeup. For most of my life people have thought I am much younger than I really am – and Photoshop-assisted by-line photographs certainly help that impression.

I’m also not easily upset. In fact, I positively thrive in adversity. Calm under pressure is part of a journalist’s job. I covered 9/11 from downtown New York City for one of the Sunday papers and have travelled to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo – the rape capital of the world. I took both in my stride but this one grey hair has sent me to my panic stations.

Strangely, I have nothing against grey hair on others. My husband has been salt and pepper for years and I think he gets sexier every time I look at his increasingly grey hair. Many women look better grey.

Finding my own grey hair did not come as a surprise but my reaction to it has been upsetting because it’s completely out of character. It seems grey hair is a bit like wrinkles; you think they give the face character until that wrinkly face in the mirror is yours.

Age is often on my mind but not my age, more the age of other people (Every Monday readers, my parents and in-laws for example) and their changing needs and concerns.  So, yes the one (or maybe three) grey hairs have made me realise that I am getting older. I’m stiff when I wake up – never noticed that before – and I have more around my mid-section than I did five years ago.

Search and destroy
What did I do about that hair? No, I did not pull the coarse intruder out from the roots or dye it. I ordered a battery of blood tests for menopause, thyroid disorders, diabetes, cholesterol, liver and kidney functions. You name it and I was probably tested for it.

The results were interesting – there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I am just getting older.

Unsatisfied with my glowing report, I then decided my next step was to research the issue to death. I needed answers.

Grey hair facts
What causes grey hair? It’s the same thing that causes freckles – pigment. In the womb, everyone’s hair is white. Then melanocytes, cells in our hair follicles, produce pigments including melanin. The pigment combination gives our hair its colour.  When the melanocytes stop creating pigment the hair goes transparent and appears grey next to healthier, darker hair.

Apparently, we tend to go grey around the same time as our parents but not always. It’s also a myth that if you pluck out grey hair then two will grow back. Grey hair can be harder to colour because it’s not as absorbent as healthy hair. Doesn’t that make you wonder how they managed to get Anne Bancroft’s hair black with that lovely grey stripe in The Graduate?

Early greys may indicate an underlying medical condition. A thyroid imbalance or B12 deficiency can cause your hair to lose colour. Smokers are also four times more likely to have grey hair than those who don’t take a few puffs. The chance of going grey goes up 10-20% every decade after you turn 30.

Interesting stuff but the facts are not making me feel any better. I am bereaved over my loss of youth and have started experiencing the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

It’s way too early for acceptance. Instead, I just part my hair on the other side and pretend the grey hair – that little bugger! – isn’t there.

Western society has hang-ups about ageing, and older people are often invisible or ignored.

Fianna Fáil TD Mary O’Rourke, one of the more senior members in the Dáil, was being asked for her advice to older people running for politics last Monday.

Thankfully, O’Rourke did not have a “senior moment”, the American expression for forgetfulness or a momentary blanking of the mind, as she replied. The political veteran – whose BER energy rating, if she were a house, would be just fine – replied that her genetic make-up meant she was not a delicate person and had lots of energy.

Obviously, the RTÉ reporter did not ask the question with any malice, but the throwaway comment reflects Irish society’s casually expressed, but deeply ingrained, views of the aged. We assume that anyone over 50 is slowing down, putting on a robe and slippers, obsessing about health problems, the weather, Daniel O’Donnell and preparing to die.

These ideas translate directly into the workplace and society. The third-highest number of complaints to the Equality Tribunal last year – 82, up from 41 in 2007 – involved age discrimination. This bias may range from something as subtle as refusing an employee’s training course request because they might not be around much longer to outright abuse due to the person’s age.

Some of Ireland’s best thinkers – business leaders, entrepreneurs and politicians – are over 55. Can you imagine Dermot Desmond, Martin Naughton, Margaret Heffernan, Feargal Quinn or Jackie Healy-Rae willingly packing it in because they’d reached a certain birthday?

Western society has hang-ups about ageing, and older people are often invisible or ignored. How often do you see the over-55s represented in the media, advertising or entertainment industries?

By contrast, Asian society is renowned for its reverence for older people. RTÉ’s Margaret Ward, who has been stationed in China for a few years, told me older people there are quite visible and active in society, since they retire quite early. “You see them in parks a lot, doing tai chi, playing cards and mahjong, doing ballroom dancing, group sing-songs and using public gym equipment.”

So, where do our beliefs come from? We’ve probably been overly influenced by advertising research. Marketing executives believe older people are more set in their ways so they are less likely to spend money, change brands or try something new. The golden demographic – 18- to 34-year-olds – are lusted after for their spendthrift ways.

As the recession deepens, however, marketers are changing their views. The New York Times reported last month that there is an increasing interest in marketing goods and services to consumers aged 50 and older. “Among those aiming more at the older demographic are giants like Chrysler, Kraft Foods, L’Oréal, Procter Gamble and [retailer] Target,” the paper said.

It’s not altruistic; they’re just following the money. Baby boomers have entered their later years and they’re not dropping like flies. Life expectancy in Ireland is increasing. According to the Central Statistics Office, men’s life expectancy is 76.8 years (up 1.7 years) and women’s life expectancy is 81.6 years (up 1.3 years) in the most recent data.

There are probably more “active retired” individuals than the widely characterised sick, doddery pensioners waiting for the Grim Reaper. Although Ireland has one of the EU’s younger populations, with just 11.5 per cent of us over 65, this is set to rise to 26 per cent by 2011.

Seniors are having their moment. During the medical card protests last autumn, one campaigner said: “They underestimated the generation that marched for civil rights in the 1960s, marched for tax reform in the 1980s and march in the noughties for the right to a decent health service.”

Eighty per cent of all older people voted in the last election, and a new political party has been formed. John Wolfe (71) launched the Seniors’ Solidarity Party this week to lobby on issues of concern for the over-50s and their families.

We’re all 21 in our heads, and most people over 55 do not feel old. New website EveryMonday.ie, which I edit, found that 80 per cent of 500 people over the age of 55 who were surveyed believed 80 years of age, not 65, was old. So, 80 is the new old and there’s a lot of living to be done in our last 30 years.

It’s time we all question our attitudes and ask: what role do older people play in our society, in our businesses and in our personal lives?

Margaret E Ward is a journalist, blogger and managing director of Clear Ink