Wednesday 16 March 2011

The very first County Antrim Pensioners Parliament, as part of the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament, took place in Ballymena yesterday with around 80 older people from the county in attendance.  The event, which was opened by Mayor of Ballymena, Councillor Maurice Mills, is the third of seven ‘local parliaments’ due to take place in Northern Ireland in the coming weeks. 

Organised by Age Sector Platform, the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament is the first of its kind here, and aims to ensure that older people’s views from every county in Northern Ireland are represented. 

At the Antrim parliament, older people from the county discussed and debated the issues that were of importance to them, with an expert panel on hand to provide advice and information on any complex points raised.  Issues such as health, community safety and transport were discussed; alongside worries about keeping warm in winter and having enough money for a decent quality of life.  The expert panel included Zoë Anderson from Access to Benefits (A2B), Joleen Cunningham from the Consumer Council, Patrick Graham from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and Inspector John Allen from the PSNI.

Opening the event, Councillor Mills said: “I was delighted to be invited to open proceedings today and I commend Age Sector Platform for organising this event.  I truly believe today will help ensure the voice of older people in County Antrim is heard.  I am encouraged to hear that this is not the end of this process.  In June this year, delegates from this event will join older people from across Northern Ireland in attending the overall 2-day Pensioners Parliament, where the priorities for older people across the province will be decided.”

Bill Carson from Randalstown who is Chair of Age Sector Platform commented: “Today has marked the beginning of a unique process.  Instead of telling pensioners what they should be worried about, we are actively encouraging them to tell us about the problems they face.  This truly is a ‘bottom up’ approach.  Today’s audience interaction, through debate and voting, has been a real triumph and we hope the rest of the local parliaments will be as successful as the County Antrim parliament.”

For more information on the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament, please visit www.pensionersparliament.org. 

To view photographs from the County Antrim Pensioners Parliament click HERE.