The Older Persons Council (OPC) Executive Committee meet on a monthly basis. The OPC are supported by an Assistant Staff Officer based in the Community Section who manages their administration requirements. The OPC is the formal representation group of older adults in the county and plays an integral part in the development, delivery, and monitoring of the Kilkenny Age Friendly County Programme.
The Executive Committee of the council is elected by its members, who are drawn from individual older people and older people’s groups across rural and urban communities in Kilkenny city and county. Members include younger older adults (55-80 years) and more vulnerable “older” older adults (80+ years) as well as a diverse mix of older adults including different ethnic and socio-economic groups and those who represent specific groups like Men’s Sheds, Active Retirement, and other groups.
Members of the Older People’s Council are represented on local government structures including Local Community Development Committees, Joint Policing Committee, The Public Participation Network, The Integrated Care Pathways for Older People (HSE) and the Strategic Policy Committee.
The Council is a voluntary group and membership is free. Planned activities including annual conferences and regional gatherings. The Executive produce a newsletter for their members including suggestions on exercising at home, health advice and useful contact numbers. The current Executive Committee can be contacted on 087 6218589 or emailed at .
Kilkenny Age Friendly Gatherings
Several Age Friendly Initiatives have been launched with the assistance of the Kilkenny Age Friendly Alliance and influenced by the Kilkenny Older Peoples Council. To further support our ability to be more fully representative of older people throughout Kilkenny City and County, the Kilkenny Older Persons Council obtained funding from The Community Foundation of Ireland through its Older Persons’ Fund -Supporting Older People’s Voices at a Local and National Level.
With their support they engaged in a series of Community Gatherings, targeted at older people, particularly in areas where the Kilkenny Older Peoples Council had least engagement. These Gatherings provided the attendees with up-to-date information on the role and functions of the Older Peoples Council at a local and national level and other agencies that work throughout Kilkenny City and County to support older people as they grow old.
The Crime Prevention Section of An Garda Síochana gave updates on how to keep safe in the home and community, Kilkenny Recreation and Sports Partnership gave updates on their activities in supporting older people in keeping active and engaged in social activities, Kilkenny/Carlow Education and Training Board provided information on available programmes designed to support older people, ALONE provided information on all the services they provide to older people including its befriending services and personal alarms.
In addition to provision of information, the greatest value was obtaining the views of older people, through facilitated consultation workshops, at each of the venues – Urlingford, Castlecomer, Ferrybank, Mullinavat, Graiguenamanagh, Kilkenny City (East) and Kilkenny City (West). The findings from these workshops and questionnaires have been analysed and presented in a report to Kilkenny Age Friendly Alliance to inform the development of the next Age Friendly Strategy from 2023: Having Your Say – the Kilkenny Older Persons Council Community Gatherings