Press Release

Campaigners welcome increased funding for homecare in Budget 2018

A group of Ireland’s leading not for profit organisations and campaigners today welcomed the announcement that an extra €37 million will be invested in homecare and transitional care beds in 2018.

A spokesperson for the group said, “This increased investment in homecare will go some way to meeting the needs of thousands of people across Ireland who are currently on long waiting lists for homecare that will support them to live and die well in the community, stay out of hospital and long-term residential care, and remain in their own homes with their families if that is their wish. As of July 2017, there were approximately 4,600 people on waiting lists for homecare and this funding will help to address this significant back log”.

During European Week of Sport 2017 our Go for Life programme will be organising a number of "Always wanted to try......." activities, where individuals and groups are invited to take part in a range activities from ziplining to open sea swimming.

Sport Ireland is the national co-ordinator for the European Week of Sport in Ireland, which aims to promote sport and physical activity across Europe and over three hundred sport and physical activity events will take place across Ireland from 23rd - 30th September 2017. 

We would encourage everyone to use the opportunity of the week to get involved in sport and to get active. A full listing of events scheduled for the European week of Sport is available on the Sport Ireland website HERE and everyone is encouraged and invited to get involved and participate in their local events.

***The deadline for receipt of applications for this year's grant scheme has now passed. 

Grants are available to all eligible local clubs, groups and organisations that promote increased participation in recreational sport or physical activity for older people as a main element of their activities.A total of €300,000 will be available in grants in 2017, and grants awarded will be between €250 and €700.

The sixth annual Go for Life Games will be held in the DCU on Saturday 10^th June, from 10am to 4pm.  24 Teams from will participate in various games especially adapted for older people. 

As part of the 2017 festival Age & Opportunity's Bealtaine has created an opportunity for a care setting and its residents to engage creatively with a visual artist over the course of a number of months.

About the Care Setting Residency

This care settings residency is a new Bealtaine initiative in partnership with Waterford Healing Arts Trust and Age & Opportunity's Creative Exchanges QQI accredited training programme.

A care setting has been selected for the initiative and Age & Opportunity / Bealtaine are now calling on artists to apply for this residency.

Bealtaine Festival 2017 - All Together Now: Celebrating the power of the collective!

We are now inviting you to register to take part in this year’s Bealtaine Festival.  As you are aware, Bealtaine is Ireland’s national celebration of creativity as we age.

For the past 21 years the Festival has grown into Ireland’s largest co-operative arts festival with over 3,500 events taking place each year in towns and villages throughout the country. As the world’s first national celebration of creativity in older age, the Festival has also inspired a number of international festivals working to promote deep engagement with the arts by people of 50 and over.

*We are no longer accepting applications for this internship as the deadline has passed

Internship 

Age & Opportunity's Bealtaine Festival is looking for an intern to be part of the Festival Team 2017. The intern will play an important role in supporting the 2017 Festival.

What's in it for you?

We are keen to support the professional development of our interns; an internship with the Bealtaine Festival will provide unique opportunities to be involved in a successful collaborative festival. Specifically you will have an opportunity to:

Age & Opportunity's sport and physical activity programme had a very busy 2016, with a record number of PALS workshops being rolled out throughout the country. 66 workshops with an average of 20 participants per workshop means we are building our PALs network every year.

Already scheduled for 2017 are a series of new workshops in Cork in February, Carlow in March, and Kerry in September. If you know someone who would like to train as a PAL be sure to give them our contact details and we can provide them with all the information on how to register for these programmes. Workshops which began in Autumn 2016 will continue in counties Offaly in mid-January and Fingal and Longford in February.

The Active Citizenship and Lifelong Learning programme has been delivering training and support to groups all around the country in 2016. It was a busy year and we hope that 2017 will be just as busy and interesting as last year.

We have a range of programmes on offer if you are interested in developing new skills, becoming more active in your community and/or taking time out for personal development. One of our core beliefs is that we are never too old to learn something new or to reflect on who we are and what life has been like so far.

In 2016 we celebrated the 21st year of the Bealtaine festival, and we would like to thank all our organisers, audience members and supporters and partners for making the event a great success.   The Arts & Culture programme has already put plans in place for the 2017 festival and you can read more on that below.  

We also work to increase opportunities for older people to engage with Ireland’s vibrant cultural and arts scene through our Cultural Companions programme.  Our companions have been out and about at a range of festive events over the past weeks, and we will be scheduling lots of exciting events in 2017.  Keep an eye on our website for more details and to find out how you can get involved.

Minister O'Donovan Announces Sports Grants Which Will Enable Over 30,000 Older People to Engage In Physical Activity

• Number of grant applications has increased by 125% since launch of scheme in 2001
• Almost €300,000 awarded to clubs and groups nationwide this year
• The Grant Scheme has awarded over €5million during its lifetime

Wexford County Council Public Library Service and Age & Opportunity presents Changing Gears: A 6-week course about Building Resilience - taking stock, making changes, bouncing back & moving on

Location: Wexford County Library
Time: Wednesday afternoons, 2:00 – 4:30pm
Dates: 14th September –19th October 2016

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D, today launched Ireland's participation in this year’s European Week of Sport.

Grants are available to all eligible local clubs, groups and organisations that promote increased participation in recreational sport or physical activity for older people as a main element of their activities.A total of €300,000 will be available in grants in 2016, and grants awarded will be between €250 and €700.

To apply please download and complete the application form below and return it to us by 12 noon on Friday, 30th September 2016.  Grant allocations will be announced in November 2016.

Dublin, Ireland 14th April 2016. Ireland is in danger of ignoring the contribution that older people can make to their communities, according to a report launched on Wednesday 13th April at City Hall, Dublin.

The findings are part of Touchstone Project, a community engagement initiative of the Active Ageing Partnership, (Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity and Third Age), and the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology in NUI Galway.

Age & Opportunity is delighted to announce Iconic Citizens as the theme for Bealtaine 2016, Ireland’s annual festival of creativity as we age which is celebrated during the month of May. Last year, over 125,000 people participated in Bealtaine, making it one of the most important cultural events in the national arts calendar. This phenomenally high level of engagement, married with the creativity and enthusiasm of all involved, makes Bealtaine the vibrant and energetic celebration of creativity that it is today.

This year, Bealtaine will celebrate its 21st birthday with over 600 events in libraries, arts centres, care settings, galleries, local halls and community centres throughout the country. With a wide range of activities including poetry, writing workshops, traditional music events, art exhibitions and an important seminar about the use of creativity in planning our communities and care settings, there will definitely be something for everyone during Bealtaine 2016.

The application process is now closed for this position.

Age & Opportunity is currently seeking a PR, Communications and Marketing Manager.

Irish people over 50 are now more likely to be active than inactive, according to a new survey from Age & Opportunity's Go for Life and Sport Ireland. The research, launched today by Minister of State for Sport, Michael Ring TD, shows that there are 53% of older adults who can be classed as 'active' instead of 'low or not active'.

The Social Computing for the Community project brings together businesses, NGOs and the Irish Prison Service to give value to the community. A number of major companies in Ireland donate computers for refurbishment and distribution to community organisations. As part of this project we have a pool of computers which can be allocated to older people's projects. If you would like to request computers for your organisation, please complete the online expression of interest form that can be found at http://socialcomputing.ie/request.html  Please note to be eligible for computers you must meet the criteria detailed in the form.

Specification: