SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, May 16. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of the Popular Party of the Canary Islands and candidate for the Presidency of the autonomous government, Manuel Domínguez, has denounced that the Torres Executive has turned the elderly into “the pending issue” in the social policies of this legislature; “An oversight that we are going to correct because for us it is an act of solidarity and responsibility between generations towards those who took care of us and have given us with their efforts the opportunities that we enjoy today,” he said.
Manuel Domínguez assured that the left “forgets” that the elderly “are one of the great assets of our society, to whom we have the obligation to direct as many measures as are necessary to ensure their social and individual well-being, improve their quality of life and effectively guarantee their rights”.
The popular candidate for the Presidency of the Canary Islands Government expressed himself in this way after a meeting with the Iballa de La Gomera Association for the Elderly and Pensioners, in which he was accompanied by the island candidates for the regional Chamber and the Cabildo, Elena García and Carmen Delia Garcia, respectively.
Domínguez pointed out that the Canary Islands will face an “unprecedented” demographic challenge in the next 15 years, warning that those over 65, who now represent 16.9% of the population, will be 25.04% of the inhabitants of the Archipelago in 2035; In other words, one in four Canaries will then have entered their third age, a growth in longevity that will mean “the most relevant social fact and the one that will most impact and condition our model of society at all levels”.
“A demographic change – he continued – that implies a challenge for the Canary Islands, because far from being all prepared to address the different needs that this group will have, there is still a lot to be done and questions arise about what the government has done in these four years Government of Torres to face the reality of our elders today and to prepare our welfare state to take charge of the care they will require”.
Manuel Domínguez assures that there are currently almost 381,000 people over the age of 65 on the Islands, 381,000 canaries, the majority in vulnerable situations, who “have been the great forgotten by the government that was not going to leave anyone behind.” Our elderly have had to face alone a rise in the shopping cart of more than 17%, they have to wait a year and a half to collect a non-contributory pension of just 545 euros, and two and a half years to receive the response from Social Policies to his Dependency request”, lamented
On the other hand, he also denounced that the Canary Islands only have half of the socio-sanitary places it needs. “We have a deficit of 8,709 residential places for people over 65 years of age and, meanwhile, the II Infrastructure Plan is on its second or third extension and we currently maintain 487 seniors living in hospitals with medical discharge.”
The leader of the popular of the Canary Islands announced that his formation intends to value the contribution to the social, economic, cultural and political life of the elderly, establishing the focus of his proposals based on two main pillars: attention to people in situation of dependency and the promotion of active aging.
PROPOSALS OF THE POPULAR PARTY OF THE CANARY ISLANDS
Domínguez assures that the Popular Party intends to “banish stereotypes and conventions” that make it difficult for the elderly to fully enjoy their rights like any other citizen: to be able to choose where and how to live; decide for oneself when care is required or participate in collective decision-making; be attended to quickly when they need it and receive the benefits of the welfare state in a timely manner.
Among the proposals of the Plan To Govern of the Canary PP is the implementation of the first Statute for the Elderly, “a framework for the protection of the rights of our elders that no government has promoted before in the Canary Islands”, highlighted the president of the PP.
The objectives for the sector set out by the group chaired by Manuel Domínguez also includes guaranteeing that all the elderly can access quality public services, establishing plans with councils and town halls so that all residences with places for the elderly offer “the best resources and the best quality so that they can access with the same guarantees regardless of the place of the Autonomous Community where they reside and progressively increase the number of public and subsidized places”.
Promote active aging plans that promote a healthy and autonomous life in coordination with the town halls; actions for the integration of the elderly in their family and social environment, and ensure that they can continue living in their homes; reinforcing the role of volunteering and establishing specific actions against abuse of the elderly, is also part of the proposals of the PP for the next four years in the Canary Islands.
