Better care of the elderly must be included in public policy, according to the Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran.

He was speaking at the Day for Life, the Church’s special day dedicated to celebrating the dignity of life from conception to natural death. This year’s theme was Caring for the Older Person and Bishop Doran addressed a homily on the subject yesterday.

“It is important that we don’t forget the lessons of the recent pandemic, when older people, especially those in nursing homes, were exposed to greater risk, because they were not adequately factored into public policy”, said the chairman of the Council for Life of the Irish Bishops’ Conference.

“Some older people do, of course, need more care, whether they live at home or in a nursing home.  Even when people are frail due to old age, we should be slow to suggest that they have nothing to contribute.  Even then, they have a mission.  So many of our older people bear witness to the Gospel by their presence, their prayer and their patience in the face of suffering or reduced mobility,” he added.