Speech by President of the Government at presentation of Framework of Action for the Elderly

Madrid

Madam Minister for Employment and Social Security, Mr Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality, Mr President of the Democratic Union of Pensioners of Spain, public officials, ladies and gentlemen, friends,

As has already been mentioned here, today we commemorate the International Day of Older Persons; a celebration that reminds us each year of the key importance of the elderly in our society and in our daily lives.

This celebration coincides, moreover, with the approval in the Lower House of Parliament of two very important laws: the Law on the Third Sector and the Law on Voluntary Work. Furthermore, I would like to announce that next week we will take the Framework of Action for the Elderly previously mentioned to the Council of Ministers

More than 100 different bodies have taken part in the drafting of this Framework of Action, which seeks for the elderly to have stronger individual and social rights, to increase their well-being, their autonomy and, in the end, their quality of life.

The new framework contains measures related to employment, proposals that are tied, as was recalled here, to strengthening their participation in all areas of society and actions that foster a healthy and independent life through promoting health. It also contains initiatives that improve equal opportunities between elderly men and women.

Hence, we are looking at a great social agreement that contains what the elderly expect and wish for from a society that they have helped, to a large extent, to build, and which also contains the affection that all Spaniards feel and the importance we attribute to our elderly citizens.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There are 8.5 million people over the age of 65 in Spain. That thus equates to one in five Spaniards. And behind those years, as we were well reminded of in the speech by our friend Luis, lies a life, experiences, a family, a lot of work and a great deal of effort, and I also imagine that many dreams fulfilled.

Their generation, moreover, is the one that consolidated democracy in Spain and worked hard to guarantee social cohesion. They are, thus, key players of the best Spain that has been seen for a long time: a modern, democratic, supportive, open Spain that is fully integrated in the European construction project.

It is only fair, because it is right to recall certain things, to also acknowledge the role they have played in the crisis as a safety net for many families struck by unemployment and the lack of opportunities. How many grandparents, over the last few years, have helped out their children and their grandchildren in tough times? A great many and it is only right to recall that. That is why it was so important to guarantee pensions. On many occasions, their well-being has depended on these pensions, and also, in the tough times, the well-being of their families.

Guaranteeing pensions not only means raising them each year; it also means creating jobs, because pensions are paid for through NI contributions, and it also means pushing through reforms to make the system sustainable, because those of us who work today and pay for pensions also deserve that our rights are guaranteed, when the time comes.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Pensions are a key issue, but not the only one by a long shot. Many of you, although at a lesser rate, feel the need to continue working when you reach retirement age and there is not a single profession in which experience is not a bonus and it is our duty to harness this. This is something that nowadays is a reality thanks to the possibility of being able to combine receiving a retirement pension with carrying on a remunerated activity.

In short, their autonomy, their quality of life, their right to live well and their right to continue participating in different areas of life, and feeling a part of that, are essential goals for this government and are essential goals for any normal person.

Friends,

As I mentioned earlier, more than 100 bodies are represented here that have taken part in the new Framework of Action for the Elderly. In their dual role as representatives of the elderly and of the Third Sector for Social Action, today is also an important day due to the approval, as I said at the start of my speech, of the Law on the Third Sector for Social Action and the Law on Volunteer Work; laws that come from you, exist for you and respond to a demand dating back many years. This is the first time that a Law on the Third Sector has been approved in Spain. Never before has such a strong and clear commitment been made to the Third Sector.

In all sincerity, and I say this because it is what I feel, we have not sat back with our arms folded. We started this term of office paying back what the public authorities owed; the famous Supplier Payment Plan affected many people, including the Third Sector. We have converted the elderly into our collaborators through the Round Table for Civil Dialogue and we will finish this task by approving two essential laws for this sector.

Please allow me to draw my speech to a close now. Spain is a supportive country. We are so between regions, as it should be, through the system of financing. We are so between generations, thanks to a pension system. And we are so as a nation, since our taxes go towards maintaining the Welfare State which is the basis for our social cohesion.

The solidarity that makes us better as a country is the consequence of a shared feeling of belonging. We are supportive because we share projects, values and principles, a shared idea of a united Europe that is better and stronger, of a nation of free and equal citizens; a society that returns to our elderly at least a good part of what they have given and a country that believes in equal opportunities and attends, between us all, to all the needs of everyone.

In short, solidarity has been the key to the success of Spain in its strategy to overcome the crisis, and this has been so because our solidarity is helping us to come out of the crisis early, better and, above all, together through a great collective effort that makes us feel very proud. And you, who have given so much of yourselves to help us overcome the crisis, must now be the key players and the beneficiaries of this recovery. That is only fair.

Thank you very much.