'Tougher laws needed on elder abuse'
Tougher laws laws are needed to outlaw elder abuse and protect vulnerable adults of all ages, according to Age Action Ireland.
Speaking on World Elder Abuse yesterday, Age Action chief Robin Webster acknowledged the work of the 32 elder abuse officers appointed last year by the HSE.
However, he said a more comprehensive package of measures was needed to tackle elder abuse.
Age Action says the substantial workload facing the HSE elder abuse staff is evidence of the scale of the problem in Ireland.
Figures released by the HSE shows that they had dealt with 523 cases of elderly abuse during the first four months of 2008, compared to 923 for all of 2007, although many of the elder abuse officers did not take up their posts until late in the year.
The campaign group says between 14,000 and 24,000 older people may have been abused in the Republic of Ireland.
Mr Webster said Age Action had real concerns that the law is not there to protect vulnerable adults of any age.
Legislation is also needed to establish the rights to core services for older people and to impose duties on statutory bodies to provide services.
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