PENSIONERS were "distressed" at the criticism of the elderly for voting for Brexit, the Older People's Commissioner has said.

Eddie Lynch, who was appointed to the post in June, said he was "quite shocked" at some of the anger directed at older voters, whose majority preference for Brexit was seen as having swayed the overall outcome.

Mr Lynch said: "Some people got in touch with the office after Brexit because they were upset at things they had read about older people.

"People are entitled to vote whatever way they want and what concerned me was some of the comments about an upper age limit on voting. I appreciate passions were running high but some of the comments were deeply divisive."

It was suggested by some after the June vote that the young had been 'dragged' out of the EU by the old.

The Armagh man is only the second person ever to hold the post, following on from Claire Keatinge, who became the north's first Commissioner for Older People in 2011.

"We have 14 staff in the office and considering the workload we have it is a small team. Currently we have 100 live cases, dealing with complaints or problems older people have or disputes with statutory agencies," Mr Lynch said.

"My office provides real and practical support, both in terms of statutory evidence to government and the power to formally and informally investigate on issues and compel witnesses to give evidence."

After working in e-commerce and IT training in his earlier career, Mr Lynch (39) spent five years at the Consumer Council before moving to Age Sector Platform as Chief Executive in 2008, where he oversaw the Pensioners Parliament.

The new commissioner, who is embarking on six public consultation events across Northern Ireland, said he is calling for new laws on adult safeguarding and an end to age discrimination for goods and services.

"One of the big disappointments has been the fact that older people aren't mentioned once in the Programme For Government. Between now and 2021 we will be adding 50,000 extra pensioners over 65 to our population," he said.

Amongst other priorities include examining why pensioners in Northern Ireland fall victim to financial scams more frequently than in Britain and looking at care issues, such as "the shortage of carers, particularly in rural areas, and their terms and conditions."

The Commissioner, who earns £75,000, also defended the current level of pensioner benefits, including free travel.

"There is an estimated £1.5m-2m every week which goes uncollected in pension credit, which is means tested, and that money is lost to the local economy," said Mr Lynch.

"That £200 winter fuel payment could be the difference between life and death. The bus pass allows people with money to spend to spend it in the local economy and it takes cars off the road, while the TV licence provides a big source of entertainment for older people."

He added: "This idea of lots of millionaire pensioners using their bus passes every day is a bit of a myth. I am not convinced about what potential savings could be made."

Despite being a long way off claiming the bus pass himself, Mr Lynch laughs when asked whether his youth is a disadvantage for the role.

He said: "When I started my last job people were putting the same question to me. The issue isn't my age, it's about being able to listen to people and ensuring those needs are put across."