Thousands of cases of elder abuse go unreported each year in Ireland, an older people's charity has claimed.
Speaking to mark World Elder Abuse Day, Age Action Ireland said that many older people suffer abuse in silence, despite the existence of a dedicated support network to help them resist ill-treatment.
The charity estimates that between 14,400 and 24,000 Irish people may have suffered elder abuse at some stage of the latter years of their lives. However, the specialised Elder Abuse Service set up by the HSE has received just 2,767 complaints in the two years since its inception.
Age Action chief executive Robin Webster said that the burden of identifying cases of elder abuse must be shared more equally between the HSE and the network of friends, neighbours and organisations who work closely with older people.
"An analysis of the elder abuse complaints received by the HSE in 2007 and 2008 shows that the majority of complaints were reported by public health nurses and other HSE staff," he said.
"In contrast, other voluntary and statutory organisations accounted for less than five per cent of referrals.
“Age Action is really concerned that many people are suffering unnecessarily, not knowing that help is at hand which could stop the abuse," he added.
Although information on the pervasiveness of abuse among elder populations is relatively scarce, according to the report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse published in 2002 between 3 and 5 per cent of elderly people in the Republic experience some form of mistreatment.
In 2008, close to 80 per cent of alleged abusers in cases referred to the HSE were family members, yet just 15 per cent of cases of elder abuse were reported by family members. Mr Webster said that this was indicative of the need for greater education of the wider community on the problems of elder abuse.
“Within this context groups which work with older people have a greater responsibility to educate their members about the possible indicators of elder abuse, and what steps should be taken when it is suspected an older people is being abused.”
Age Action Ireland urged any older person who is being abused, or members of the public who suspect that abuse is occurring, to contact the HSE. Details on how to contact dedicated elder abuse officers are available from HSE regional offices or by telephoning the HSE’s information line on 1850 24 1850.