The National Council on Ageing and Older People is hosting a conference today which will consider strategies to combat the number of accidents among older people.
Accidents are a major cause of death and injury among older people in Ireland. Between 1998 and 2002, 134 pedestrians aged 65 or over were killed in road accidents while some 500 other older people were injured.
In 2003, 15 older people died as a result of fire-related accidents, while falls accounted for over 7,000 fractures among older people in 1999, including 3,279 hip-fractures.
The conference will be addressed by leading experts on safety from Ireland, Canada and the UK, including an international authority on accidents from the World Health Organisation.
