Elder abuse is by no means a new phenomenon in Ireland. It is one of many other abuses committed in Ireland, which is now being more carefully regulated and supervised with new policies, in the hope of preventing it in the future. In this essay I will discuss the meaning of elder abuse and the types and consequences of it, the improved policies in place to try to prevent further elder abuse and I will also evaluate the effectiveness of these policies by discussing the good and bad in the policies. .Elder abuse is the physical, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse of a person 65 years of age or older. It is defined as “a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship in which there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person or violates their human rights and civilians” (Protecting Our Future, Report of the Working Group on Elder Abuse, 2002). As mentioned above, several types of elder abuse can occur. Physical abuse is the act of hurting the person by hitting, neglecting their needs, using violence. Emotional abuse means that the person's feelings are deliberately hurt or that the person is upset by the acts of their caregiver intentionally trying to hurt them. Financial abuse is the act of the caregiver perhaps abusing the older person's money or stealing it. Sexual abuse means that the older person is touched or forced to take part in sexual acts to which they do not consent. Each of these abuses are outlawed, however until recently they occurred in many senior living environments as they were not properly regulated and supervised. Reports of this abuse showed the effect it had on the elderly who experienced it and also showed that it was quite common...half of the document......number of elderly people.' Continued advocacy is needed to ensure that public policy remains focused on the needs of older adults, adults with dementia and adults at risk of abuse. Effectively combating elder abuse requires leadership from government, service providers, other institutions, and older adults themselves and the organizations that represent them. Many of the risk factors associated with elder abuse and neglect will increase in Irish society over the coming decades, given the rapid aging of the population. It is essential that the government develops a strategy to address the multitude of problems that an aging population will face. The CSO predicts that the number of people over 65 will double by 2026 to 909,000. ALONE calls on the Government to deliver on its promise to take a pragmatic approach to Ireland's aging population.' (Only ed)