Elderly people living in Co Cork will get a chance to have a say on their greater inclusion in society.
Cork County Council will today launch a programme of public consultation events which will form a framework for a better lifestyle for the elderly.
The Age-Friendly County Programme will be officially launched in County Hall and will be followed, throughout the month, by consultations in a number of towns.
Its aims will be to facilitate increased participation of older people in the social, economic and cultural life of the community and to hear firsthand their views and ideas on how this can be achieved in the region.
Chairman of the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District of Cork County Council, Cllr. John Paul O’ Shea (Ind) “The objective of the launch is to kickstart a countywide consultation and awareness-raising exercise, which will inform Cork’s Age-Friendly County Strategy and Plan which will be published in 2015. The process is being led by Cork’s Age-Friendly County Alliance which I am delighted to be a member of”.
The alliance is chaired by James Fogarty, assistant county manager, and has representatives from the HSE, gardaí and other organisations. The World Health Organisation defines an “age-friendly” community as one in which service providers, public officials, community leaders, faith leaders, business people and citizens recognise the great diversity among older persons, promote their inclusion and contribution in all areas of community life, respect their decisions and lifestyle choices, and anticipate and respond flexibly to ageing related needs and preferences.
Shane Winters, regional programme consultant for Age-Friendly Ireland, said that the purpose of this launch is to stimulate interest in developing The Cork Age-Friendly County Initiative. “Our aim is to bring together the older residents of Cork and the key service providers from the statutory, voluntary, community, and private sectors to identify the opportunities from all present on how we can make Cork an excellent place in which to live, work, and grow old,” he said.
Mr. Winters said the key to the success of this initiative will be the direct involvement of older people and older people’s groups across the county.
Anybody interested in attending consultation events should contact Cork County Council’s planning policy unit at 021 4285900.
Event times
– Monday Oct 6: County Hall 2.30pm-4pm.
– Thursday Oct 9: Quality Inn Hotel, Clonakilty 1pm-3.30pm.
– Monday Oct 13: Maritime Hotel, Bantry. 1pm-3.30pm.
– Thursday Oct 16: Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, 1pm-3.30pm.
Age Friendly Programme which commences in Cork County today.
