Age Action Ireland has said that the deaths of two brothers in Bluebell in Dublin show the importance of a strong local community for elderly people and those with disabilities.
Gardaí discovered the bodies of William and Daniel McCarthy, both aged in their 70s, at a house in Millrose Estate yesterday at around 1.30am.
William McCarthy, the older of the brothers, is believed to have been dead for a number of weeks when the bodies were discovered.
Neighbours had reported not seeing the men, who were both deaf, for a number of days. Originally from Kerry, they had lived together on the quiet cul-de-sac for over two decades.
Post-mortem examinations have been carried out but there are no suspicious circumstances and foul play does not appear to be a factor in their deaths.
The Irish Deaf Society has said that the lack of accessible services in Irish Sign Language is causing social isolation for deaf older people.
Its CEO Eddie Redmond said: "Their deaths have highlighted the devastating effects of social isolation for senior citizens and for the senior deaf community in Ireland."
The organisation is concerned that Irish Sign Language is not recognised as an official language in Ireland.
That means that services, particularly at local level, can be inaccessible to deaf people.
The Irish Deaf Society is encouraging people who know of any senior deaf people who may need assistance to contact them.
People can 'become isolated anywhere'
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Head of Advocacy with Age Action Ireland Justin Moran said the fact that these brothers died in a thriving area highlights the fact that it is possible for people to become isolated anywhere - either by choice or by circumstance.
"The idea that one of these two gentlemen passed away and the other lived for a time with his brother's remains is utterly heartbreaking.
"But I think what it reminds us of as well is that it is possible for people to become isolated anywhere.
"Whenever we think or talk about social isolation, we're often doing it in the context of people who are living in rural areas, some distance from the nearest town.
"But, I mean, Millrose Estate in Bluebell, and I lived quite close to it, is quite a thriving community and it shows that it can happen anywhere to someone who, in some cases maybe by choice has isolated themself from the community," Mr Moran said.
Also speaking on the programme, independent Councillor Paul Hand said the State and the Health Service Executive have a lot of questions to answer in relation to the tragic deaths, and that it should not have been left up to the local community alone to look after the men.
"You never know how you'd react to find your brother dead but they should have gotten a lot more help from the State.
"The HSE have questions to answer about the level of care these vulnerable old men were being given. It obviously hasn't been adequate enough", Councillor Hand said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of the charity Alone said the death of the brothers is the extreme example of what can happen when elderly people are left to look after themselves.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Sean Moynihan said: "The thing we need to realise is that isolation and loneliness really affects around one in ten older people, and obviously you get cases where it's a simple journey where people, maybe a spouse or a partner, dies and the other person maybe has a disability.
"Over-80s spend around 80% of their time at home, so maybe somebody very easily could get cut off and away from their community, may not be linked to health services and then something tragic can happen."
He said his charity offers a befriending service that links volunteers with the elderly, and that last night - possibly as a result of the tragic deaths - 75 volunteers signed up for the programme.
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