Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the conference here at the Civic Center to discuss the issue of elder abuse in Ireland. By discussing this issue, I hope to illustrate how elder abuse affects many vulnerable people within today's society, thereby creating awareness of an ever-growing problem. First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to each of you who participated in this conference today. Throughout my speech, I will discuss the signs and symptoms of elder abuse. I will present the most recent statistics regarding complaints filed by individuals and/or their families regarding this issue. I will discuss legal and quasi-legal documents relating to elder abuse. In doing so, I will explain the relevant policies and procedures in place to protect, in my view, one of the most vulnerable cohorts of people. These policies will be based on past, present and future aspects. I hope that I will identify what future plans should be put in place to protect such a vulnerable group of individuals. Finally, I will describe relevant resources available to individuals suffering from elder abuse. Elder abuse has become an increasingly recognized concern and social problem in today's society. Elder abuse is defined as “a single or repeated act, or failure to take appropriate action, occurring in any relationship where there is an expectation of trust and which causes harm or distress to an older person or violates their human and civil rights” (protecting our future). , 01/23/2012). Any abuse that may occur to someone 65 or older may be classified as elder abuse. Elder abuse can take many different forms including: emotional abuse, neglect,...... middle of paper ...... This is still the case today as there are no legislation specifically governing the subject of elder abuse. However, as mentioned above, various laws can be used to combat elder abuse. These laws make it easier to prosecute individuals responsible for the abuse, mistreatment, or neglect of an elderly person. Some of the laws in force and regularly used to address this problem are human rights, health and welfare regulations, equality and age discrimination, to name a few -ones. Works cited to protect our future, 23/1/2012www.hse.ie, 23/1/2012Council of Europe study, 1992Offaly Express, 25/11/2010Hayes, C. 2011www.irishhealth.com, 23/1/ 2012www.cardi.ie, 23/1/2012www.cosc.ie, 23/1/2012www.citzensinformation.ie, 23/1/2012www.hiqa.ie, 23/1/2012www.ncpop.ie, 23/1/2012