Age NI and Age Sector Platform warmly welcome the appointment of Ms Claire Keatinge to the post of Older People’s Commissioner for Northern Ireland and call for Ms Keatinge to take proactive, immediate steps to improve the lives of older people here.

Anne O’Reilly, Age NI Chief Executive commented, 'Age NI is delighted to see Ms Keatinge in the post of Older People’s Commissioner and we wish her well in her new role.

'During the two years of our We Agree campaign, in partnership with Age Sector Platform, we witnessed the undoubted need and support for this post in our conversations with people directly and indirectly affected by the challenges of ageing. We are concerned that current government policies need to be more sophisticated to rise to the challenges and opportunities that our ageing population presents. The Commissioner needs to use their powers to make change happen and ensure that the rights and interests of older people are mainstreamed in government policy.

'The Commissioner’s role will have its own challenges, but we encourage Ms Keatinge to develop relationships immediately with relevant bodies, including the age sector to ensure that those challenges are fully understood and tackled head on. The Commissioner will no doubt appreciate the opportunities that 2012 will also present as European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity.'

Francis Hughes from Age Sector Platform added, ‘We wish Ms Keatinge well as she gets to grips with the duties of this role. One of Ms Keatinge’s first challenges will be how to engage with the diverse range of older people in Northern Ireland.

'The legislative process was a robust process, and a lot of information has been developed about the issues that a Commissioner may choose to prioritise. We Agree campaigners had one clear message – the Older People’s Commissioner needs to use their substantial powers to make a positive impact on the lives of older people.

'We believe that one of the ways that the new Commissioner can do this is to prioritise their power to commission Conciliation Services to resolve disputes between older people and service providers. This is an innovative approach to improving the lives of older people in a timely and meaningful way.' 

 

VIEW THE FINAL LEGISLATION

Follow the links below to download the final legislation & accompanying documentation

 

The Commissioner for Older People Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

 

Explanatory Notes and Financial Memorandum

VIEW FOOTAGE OF THE FIRST CONSIDERATION STAGE DEBATE

Great News! The Older People's Commissioner Bill completed the Committee scrutiny stage on 15th September 2010...a major milestone towards an Older People's Commissioner being put in place. In advance of the final debates in the Assembly... CLICK HERE to e-mail your MLAs now and urge them to support the passage of this Bill.

Campaign supporters; Dorothy Stephenson, Anne Gallagher, Anne Watson, Gerry Potts and Patricia Donald met with OFMdFM Committee Representatives; Danny Kennedy, Dolores Kelly and Francie Molloy in advance of the Committee scrutiny of the OPC Bill.

Collectively and in partnership with other organisations across the voluntary sector we developed a strong policy position with recommendations that we believe would deliver the best outcomes for older people now and far into the future.

WE AGREE that the Commissioner must...
* Be empowered to act independently from all other government and public authorities.
* Be endowed with the capacity to undertake casework and initiate litigation in strategic cases.
* Have the power to mediate on issues of contention between service providers and older people.
* Have an arbitration function exercisable where time is a critical factor.
* Be empowered to conduct formal investigations, issue directives, conduct audits of compliance and reviews of performance.
* Have the power to commission and publish research on issues affecting older people, provide information and stimulate debate on issues and models of good practice.
* Have a duty to communicate widely, seek the opinions of older people and take their views into account.

The Commissioner needs to have wide ranging powers….Powers to keep legislation, policy and practice under review, powers to mediate in disputes between older people and service providers, investigative powers and the capacity to undertake casework are all desirable because being able to respond to approaches from older people and resolve issues will be central to the Commissioners credibility.

We, outside of Government need to send the message home … Northern Ireland needs a powerful Older People’s Commissioner. We urge other organisations and individuals to support this campaign to help ensure that the planned Older People’s Commissioner for NI is independent, adequately resourced, powerful and able to act with a sense of urgency. We are building a Coalition of organisations and individuals with a shared vision for a robust, effective Older People's Commissioner for Northern Ireland. Join us and
Spread the word and together we will build the required clarity, consensus and support to ensure that the Independent Commissioner for Older People in Northern Ireland will have strong enough powers to guarantee that the rights of older people are protected, their interests are promoted and the issues affecting them are given prominence.

May 12th 2010, Departmental officials brief Committee Members on amendments to the draft Older People's Commissioner Bill in response to the consultation analysis.

Committee Scrutiny 16th September (now completed)


Committee Scrutiny 8th September

OPC Bill Second Stage 7th June