PROTESTER' MEETING: MINISTER OF State John Moloney had the singular experience of being booed off the altar by more than 1,000 angry pensioners yesterday.
A few hours earlier, the Government announced a number of changes to the plan to abolish the automatic right to medical cards for the over-70s, so Mr Maloney might have expected a muted welcome when he represented the Government at the Age Action meeting on the issue.
Far from it.
The first indication that this was more than an ordinary meeting came when Age Action volunteers stood outside the meeting venue, Dublin's Alexander Hotel, directing people away from it. It had quickly become apparent that the hotel room would not hold the hundreds of people who had started to file in from early yesterday morning.
St Andrew's Church on nearby Westland Row stepped into the breach and threw its doors open.
They came on crutches, walking sticks, frames and in wheelchairs. By 11am, the church, which has a capacity for 1,000 people, was full and the people were still streaming in.
But although they were in a church, they had not come for quiet reflection. They shouted and stamped their feet. They sang a protest song. They booed every time the Government or Fianna Fáil was mentioned.
They unfurled banners. "You haven't got what it takes but you'll take what we've got," was the message on one poster that got a large cheer. One by one, people spontaneously rose and made their way to the altar to say their piece.
They recalled the removal of shilling from the pension in the 1920s. "And look what happened to Cumann na nGaedhael. Fianna Fáil should study that carefully because they are facing into oblivion for a long time if they continue with this unjust policy," said one man.
Bill Hennessy from Sandycove suggested that immediate savings could be made with the removal of State cars. This was echoed by a woman who said that the public transport system might improve if Government Ministers were forced to use it. "And a clear out of junior ministers and advisers would be no bad thing," she added to applause.
Niall Murphy, who described himself as "just an ordinary old-age pensioner", said €250 million was allocated last year to renovate Glasnevin cemetery. "They think more of the dead than they do of the living," he said.
A speaker from Cork got one of the biggest cheers when he told the crowd, "we helped to build this country. We are the first generation of free people in this country." The Government was making "a massive financial and political mistake", he said.
The medical card had helped 96 per cent of older people to live at home but taking it away would result in more people going into nursing home and hospital care, he added.
After invoking the spirit of Martin Luther King, Clare man Joe Deane led the meeting in a rendition of We Shall Overcome, the gospel song which evolved into a civil rights anthem.
By the time Government representative John Moloney was invited to speak, there was a palpable sense of anger. Chants of "out, out, out" and "no, no, no" filled the church as the Minister of State for Health stood waiting in front of the microphone.
"Get off the stage," pensioners shouted. A woman later identified as Margaret Gaynor ran on to the altar and told Mr Moloney: "You should be ashamed of yourself, to come up here and speak to us people. How dare you?"
Government Chief Whip Pat Carey later criticised the reception received by Mr Moloney.
"When members or representatives go to attend those particular meetings, the courtesy should be accorded to them that they should at least be heard," he said. "I think it's better in a democracy to hear different points of view."
PD senator Fiona O'Malley spoke through the booing, saying Mr Moloney should have been heard. She defended the removal of the automatic right to the medical card for the over-70s.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny received a much warmer welcome and got a loud cheer when he said Fianna Fáil had made "the biggest political blunder in Irish political history". He warned that child benefit and free travel could also be in danger.
"I would say to the two Brians, Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan, it's like Laurel and Hardy - another fine mess you've landed us in," he said.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said his party would support the campaign for universal access to medical cards "to the very end".
Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin urged all older people to stand together on the issue. "If only the spirit here in this church could be bottled and brought into the chamber of the Houses of the Oireachtas, of the Dáil and Seanad over the coming days," he said.
The meeting unanimously carried a motion calling on the Government to reverse its decision to abolish the automatic right to the medical card for over-70s.
"This is the start of something," said Age Action's Robin Webster. "It's not the end of something."
